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LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


GIFT  OF* 


...tu. 


Class 


A   HISTORY  OF   THE    CITY    GOV 
ERNMENT  OF 


CLEVELAND,  OHIO 


>N    SUBMITTED  TO  THE  BOARD 
OF  UNI  IY  STUDIES  IN  CONFORMITY 

WITH   THE  REQUIREMENTS  OF  THE 
Dl  OF  THE  DOCTOR  OF 

ILOSOPHY,   1902. 


—BY- 
CHARLES  SNAVELY 
Professor  of  History  and  Economics 
Qttt  > 

'erville,  0. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PART    I. 

Cleveland  in  the  Formative  Period. 

CHAPTER   I. 

*Brief  Review  of  Territorial  History. 

Selection  of  site  for  the  city.  Township  organ- 
ization. Care  of  the  poor — State  constitution  of 
1802. 

CHAPTER    II. 

::T)C-ginnings  of  Corporate  Existence,  1814. 

The  elective  franchise.    Power  of  the  board  of  trustees. 
Village  finances.     Public  works. 

CHAPTER    III. 
Cleveland  I'nder  the  Charter  of  1836. 

The  executive.  The  legislative  body.  Finance. 
Streets.  Police  department.  Fire  department. 
Tavern  license.  Poor  relief.  Sanitary  regulation. 
Public  franchise.  Public  instruction.  Character 
of  the  government  of  this  period 1-21 

PART    II. 
Cleveland  Under  General  Laws. 

CHAPTER    I. 

The  Municipal  (  )rganization  Act  of  1852. 

The  city  council.  Annexation  of  Ohio  City.  Po- 
lice department.  Fire  Department.  Water  Works. 
Health  and  sanitation.  Board  of  improvements.  .22-42 

:i:Street  Railways,  Finance. 

CHAPTER    II. 
The  Reform  Movement. 

CHAPTER    III. 
The  Federal  Plan. 


Chapters  I  and  II  of  Part  I,  and  Chapters  II  and  III  of  Part  II  are  not 
printed.  The  complete  dissertation  in  manuscript  form  may  be  found  in  the 
Western  Reserve  Historical  Library. 


PART  I. 


CLEVELAND  IN  THE   FORMATIVE 
PERIOD. 


CHAPTER  III. 

CLEVELAND  UNDER  THE  CHARTER  OF  1836. 

The  Xew  England  plan  of  holding  town  meeting  for  the 
purpose  of  transacting  business  of  the  municipality,  and  for 
the  popular  discussion  of  public  matters  never  obtained  in  the 
Middle  States,  at  least,  not  in  Ohio.  Charter  changes  in 
Cleveland  have  usually  come  about  through  the  efforts  of  a 
comparatively  small  body  of  men  who  discussed  the  matters 
among  themselves  and  then  presented  bills,  embodying  their 
views,  to  the  General  Assembly.  That  was  the  way  the 
charter  of  1836  came  into  being.  This  new  charter  was 
passed  by  the  General  Assembly  March  6,  1836. 

The  institutions  which  had  taken  form  under  the  old 
charter  were  given  greater  expansion  in  the  more  firmly 
articulated  organism  of  the  new.  There  were  no  radical 
changes  in  the  new  instrument  except  in  the  financial  powers. 
It  was  an  embodiment  of  those  institutions  which  the  needs 
of  the  past  two  decades  had  erected.  The  new  charter  fol- 
lowed closely  the  outlines  of  the  old  village  charter,  and 
might  be  called  an  enlargement  of  the  old. 

THE  EXECUTIVE. 

In  place  of  the  village  president  was  provided  the  mayor 
of  the  city,  sustaining  the  same  relation  to  the  city  and 
council  which  the  village  president  sustained  to  the  village 
and  its  board  of  trustees.  His  tenure  of  office  was  the 
same.  His  powers  were  greater  to  be  sure,  but  the  increase 
was  not  in  proportion  to  the  increase  in  the  powers  of  the 
council.  He  was  the  presiding  officer  of  the  legislative 
body,  and  rendered  the  decision  in  case  of  a  tie  vote,  thus 


exercising  legislative  as  well  as  executive  powers.1  He  was 
vested  with  the  powers  of  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  in  all 
cases  of  violation  of  ordinances  of  the  city  he  was  clothed 
with  exclusive  original  jurisdiction.2  By  this  charter  the 
mayor  was  made  a  local  police  officer  for  the  State,  being 
charged  to  see  that  the  laws  of  the  State  as  well  as  the  ordi- 
nances of  the  city  were  obeyed.3  He  was  made  a  general 
superintendent  over  the  subordinate  officers  of  the  city,4 
which  was  not  a  specific  duty  of  the  village  president.  The 
greater  part  of  mayor's  duties  consisted  of  hearing  com- 
plaints and  of  performing  the  functions  of  a  police  judge. 

Being  an  organic  part  of  the  council5,  the  mayor  became 
more  or  less  intimately  associated  with  the  administrative 
work  of  that  body.  Through  the  appointment  of  committees 
the  mayor's  power  in  directing  the  policy  of  the  administra- 
tion was  considerable,  though  his  specified  powers  were  not 
great,  and  all  powers  not  delegated  resided  in  the  council. 
Under  the  village  administration  a  great  deal  of  the  execu- 
tive work  was  done  by  committees  appointed  for  specified 
purposes,  but  under  the  charter  of  1836  the  administrative 
duties  of  the  council  began  to  be  performed  by  standing 
committees. 

These  eight  standing  committees  (Finance,  Licenses, 
Streets,  Harbors  Wharves  and  Public  Grounds,  Judiciary, 
Market,  Fire  and  Water,  and  Claims)  were  appointed  by 
the  mayor  as  were  all  other  committees  "unless  otherwise 
directed  by  the  council."6  The  mayor  was  even  made  a 
member  of  some  of  these  committees,  at  the  request  of  the 
council.7  The  actual  practice  of  the  council  was  to  confer 
more  powers  on  the  mayor  than  the  charter  itself  would  in- 
dicate. He  performed  some  of  the  duties  which  would  now 
fall  to  the  city  clerk  or  the  auditor,  since  they  were  of  a  fiscal 
nature.8  However,  the  independent  power  of  the  mayor 
was  insignificant.  His  influence  in  directing  the  policy  of 
the  city  government  depended  upon  the  degree  of  harmony 
existing  between  himself  and  the  legislative  branch.  Hap- 
pily, the  records  indicate  that  this  relation  was  always  most 
cordial.  The  mayor  was  elected  by  popular  vote  for  a  term 
of  one  year.  The  veto  power  was  not  one  of  the  mayor's 


1  Charter  of  1836,  sec.  4.  3  Ibid. 

2  Ibid  4  Charter  of  1836,   sec.   4. 

5  Ibid. 

6  Rules  and  Orders  of  the  Common  Council  of  Cleveland,  Rule  4. 

7  Council  Proceedings  1836,  June  9.  8  Council  Proceedings  1836,  June  9. 


functions  at  this  time.  As  a  general  superintendent  of  affairs 
the  mayor  recommended  to  the  consideration  of  the  coun- 
cil such  measures  as  he  deemed  expedient.1 


THE  LEGISLATIVE  BODY. 

In  the  place  of  the  three  village  trustees  was  erected  the 
city  council,  which  was  composed  of  three  councilmen  from 
each  of  the  wards,  and  as  many  aldermen  as  there  were 
wards  in  the  city.2  These  two  classes  of  members  were 
elected  by  popular  vote  for  a  term  of  one  year.  The  coun- 
cilmen were  elected  by  wards  while  the  aldermen  were  elect- 
ed by  vote  of  the  entire  city,  but  no  two  of  the  aldermen  could 
be  residents  of  the  same  ward.  Though  composed  of  two 
kinds  of  members  the  council  was  unicameral.  The  city  was 
divided  into  three  wards,  but  the  council  had  power  to 
change,  increase  or  diminish  this  number  whenever  it  saw 
fit.3  The  original  ward  boundaries  were  extended  from  time 
to  time  to  take  in  the  additional  territory  annexed  to  the  cor- 
poration, but  the  number  of  wards  remained  unchanged  for 
fifteen  years.  The  territorial  growth  of  the  city  during 
these  fifteen  years  had  made  the  administrative  work  of  the 
council  more  complicated.  To  facilitate  the  proper  execu- 
tion of  their  duties  another  ward  was  created.4  The  ward 
representation  in  the  body  of  councilmen  was  cut  down 
about  this  time  to  two  members.  This  change  in  represen- 
tation returned  a  council  consisting  of  the  same  number  of 
members,  there  being  a  loss  of  one  in  the  number  of  council- 
men,  and  a  gain  of  one  in  the  number  of  aldermen.  This 
alteration  gave  the  legislative  body  greater  permanence  as 
the  terms  of  the  aldermen  had  been  increased  to  three  years.5 

Inasmuch  as  the  greater  part  of  the  administration  duties 
fell  to  the  council  this  was  an  important  change,  for  there 
was  always  more  or  less  work  in  the  nature  of  improvements 
which,  for  completion,  required  a  greater  length  of  time  than 
was  represented  by  the  life  of  one  council.  This  increase 
in  the  number  of  long  term  members  introduced  greater 
efficiency  by  having  on  the  executive  committees  more  mem- 
bers who  were  familiar  with  the  unfinished  improvements. 

1  Charter  of  1836,  sec.  4.  4  Act  of  March  26,  1851. 

2  Charter  of  1836,  sec.  2.  5  Act  of  February  8,  1847. 

3  Charter  of  1836,  sec.  3. 


Up  to  March  20,  1841,  the  members  of  the  council  re- 
ceived one  dollar  per  day  for  all  regular  or  special  meetings 
of  that  body.  The  question  of  council  remuneration  was  dis- 
cussed in  the  council  at  different  times.  A  resolution  was 
introduced  in  1840  looking  to  the  abolishment  of  salaries  of 
council  members.1  The  resolution  was  amended  so  as  to 
include  the  salaries  of  all  city  officers.  The  measure  was 
hardly  to  be  taken  seriously,  and  was  laid  on  the  table.  Hut 
council  remuneration  was  abolished  in  1841. 

The  powers  of  the  council  were  enumerated  in  the  charter 
in  detail.  These  powers  may  be  classified  roughly  as  fol- 
lows. Powers  relating  to,  city  property,  finance,  health, 
fire,  harbors  and  wharves,  justice,  licenses  and  fees,  ordi- 
nances, police,  public  offices  and  officers,  taxes  and  assess- 
ments, public  safety,  streets  and  highways,  and  public  edu- 
cation. 

This  was  pre-eminently  a  period  of  council  government. 
The  mayor  held  the  seal  of  the  city  and  was  the  incarnation 
of  its  dignity,  but  aside  from  his  police  duties  his  labors  were 
not  onerous,  as  the  greater  part  of  the  administrative  work 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  council.  The  municipal  patronage 
was  at  the  disposal  of  the  legislative  department.  It  created 
all  subordinate  offices  and  appointed  their  incumbents.  ( )n 
the  organization  of  the  council  each  year  it  was  deluged  with 
petitions  asking  for  appointment  to  the  subordinate  offices 
at  its  disposal,  from  city  clerk  to  bell  ringer.  This  was  in 
keeping  with  the  general  practice  of  municipalities  at  this 
time,  but  the  weakness  of  the  system  is  too  apparent  to  call 
for  anv  comment. 


FINANCE. 

As  already  observed,  one  of  the  reasons  for  the  change 
from  the  village  to  the  city  organization  was  fiscal.  The 
taxing  powers  was  limited  to  one  per  cent,  on  the  assessed 
value  of  the  taxable  property  within  the  village.  This  amount 
of  revenue  was  somewhat  augmented  by  fines  and  by 
licenses  for  taverns  and  certain  other  kinds  of  business. 
These,  however,  yielded  a  very  uncertain  return,  especially 
was  this  true  in  the  matter  of  fines.  The  borrowing  power, 
too,  was  limited  to  the  amount  of  tax  for  the  current  year. 

1  Council  Proceedings,  1840,   Feb.  12. 


This  was  too  restricted  for  the  needs  of  a  growing  city.  The 
change  in  the  taxing  power  under  the  city  charter  was  a  very 
radical  one.  |  Instead  of  being  limited  to  a  one  per  cent,  rate 
as  before,  the  council  was  given  unlimited  taxing  power,  a 
very  wide  and  dangerous  liberty. )  This  unrestricted  privi- 
lege was  not  abused,  but  the  rate  was  usually  fixed  at  a  very 
reasonable  per  cent.  Up  to  1840  the  rate  varied  little,  but 
was  kept  pretty  close  to  a  five-mill  levy.  The  rate  in  1839 
was  fixed  at  four  mills  which  was  probably  too  low,  for  the 
next  year  it  was  raised  to  seven  mills.  This  was  considered 
a  hign  rate  and  led  to  the  passage  of  an  act  by  the  General 
Assembly  limiting  the  rate  for  general  purposes  to  five  mills 
on  the  dollar.1 

In  addition  to  the  tax  of  five  mills  on  the  dollar  for  general 
purposes,  there  was  a  tax  of  one  mill  for  public  instruction, 
and  the  same  amount  for  the  purchase  of  school  sites  and  the 
erection  of  school  buildings,  and  the  discriminating  tax  for 
permanent  improvements. 

\  Borrowing  power  like  the  taxing  power  was  without  legal 
limit  as  to  amount.  The  council  could  borrow  for  the  dis- 
charge and  liquidation  of  any  debt  of  the  city,  either  present 
or  prospective,  or  for  the  redemption  of  any  loan  and  for 
interest  charges.-  The  revenues  and  the  property  of  the 
city  stood  as  a  pledge  for  the  payment  of  these  loans  under 
such  conditions  as  the  council  might  determine  uponJ  An 
ordinance  for  a  loan  required  the  approval  of  two  thirds  of 
the  members  at  two  different  sessions,  with  a  period  of  two 
weeks  intervening.  An  unlimited  borrowing  power  in  the 
hands  of  a  municipal  corporation  is  always  a  questionable 
power.  However  the  defect  which  manifested  itself  soonest 
in  this  feature  of  the  charter  of  1836  lay  in  the  fact  that  the 
council  could  make  a  loan  without  making  any  provision  at 
the  time  for  its  payment.  In  1837  a  resolution  was  offered 
providing  for  a  loan  of  $50,000  on  the  plea  that  certain  im- 
provements were  needed,  and  it  would  not  be  good  policy  to 
levy  a  tax  for  them. 

This  course  may  have  been  good  policy,  but  it  was  bad 
financiering  as  later  history  shows,  for  loans  were  some- 
times allowed  to  run  on  to  time  of  maturity  before  provision 
was  made  for  redemption,  which  resulted  in  a  burden  of  ma- 
turing obligations  and  called  for  a  refunding  of  the  city's 

1  Act  of   March  20,  1841.  2  Charter  of  1836,   sec.  14. 


6 

debts.1  This  policy  was  particularly  bad  inasmuch  as  a 
rapidly  growing  city  has  a  heavy  yearly  expense  to  provide 
for  the  demands  of  needed  improvements  without  bearing 
the  entire  burden  of  those  made  years  before. 
.  /The  treasurer  had  nothing  to  do  with  shaping  the  financial 
policy  of  the  city.  That  resided  with  the  council,  and  was 
practically  dictated  by  the  council  committee  on  finance. 

The  sources  of  revenue  were  about  the  same  as  under  the 
old  charter.  Licenses  began  to  play  an  important  part  in  the 
police  regulations,  and  yielded  no  inconsiderable  revenue. 
Besides  tavern  keepers'  and  grocers'  licenses  a  tax  was  laid 
on  theaters  and  shows.  The  poll  tax  having  been  declared 
"grevious  and  oppressive"  by  the  state  constitution2  no  poll 
tax  could  be  levied  for  state  or  county  purposes,  but  it  was 
levied  every  year  for  local  purposes.  The  return  from  this 
tax  was  spent  on  the  public  highways.  It  could  be  paid 
either  in  labor,  or  in  money.  The  greater  part  of  it  was  paid 
in  labor.  In  addition  to  the  revenue  which  accrued  from  the 
general  property  tax  and  the  other  sources  already  mentioned 
the  market  rents  and  the  fees  charged  for  services  of  a  quasi- 
public  nature  contributed  several  hundred  dollars  annually 
to  the  public  funds.  The  greater  part  of  the  revenue  was 
derived  from  the  general  property,  and  the  discriminating 
tax.  As  most  property  at  that  time  was  tangible  and  there- 
fore not  easily  concealed  from  the  eye  of  the  lister  the  general 
property  tax  system  was  fairly  satisfactory.  Resolutions 
were  introduced  on  two  separate  occasions  in  1844  to  tax 
brokers  but  the  necessary  support  was  not  secured  for  their 
enactment.  Looking  at  the  financial  records  of  the  city  at 
the  end  of  the  first  decade  we  find  the  receipts  stand  as  fol- 
lows :3 

Received  from  general  tax  for  1847.  ..  .$6,880.02 

"     inspectors  license 375-°° 

tavern  license   22.53 

"     sale  of  cemetery  lots.  ...       881.34 
proceeds  of  hay  scales ...       39141 

"     proceeds  of  public  docks.        135-49 
rent  of  market  stalls 543-12 

"     other  sources   528.53 


Total  9>95744 

1  Council   Proceedings,   1845,   July  3. 

2  Constitution  of  Ohio,  art.  12,  sec.  1. 

3  These  figures  were  taken  from  the  city  clerk's  report  published  in   Cleveland 

Plain  Dealer,  April  12,  1848. 


These  receipts  do  not  include  the  school  fund  which 
amounted  to  about  nine  thousand  dollars.  There  had  been 
overdrawn  orders  on  the  general  fund  which  when  added  to 
the  general  receipts  made  a  grand  total  of  proceeds  for  the 
year  of  $13,188.16.  The  poll  tax  for  1847  yielded  $1200, 
about  two-thirds  of  which  was  paid  in  money  and  one-third 
in  labor  on  the  highways.  The  expenditures  for  the  year 
for  general  expenses  were  $11,571.87.  Of  this  amount 
$2,036  were  paid  as  interest  charges  on  bonds  the  interst  on 
which  evidently  had  not  been  paid  the  previous  year.  De- 
ducting the  interest  charges  we  have  $9,535.04,  the  amount 
of  general  expenditures  exclusive  of  interest,  which  indicates 
a  fair  degree  of  economy  in  the  financial  administration. 
There  was  an  apparent  balance  in  the  treasury  at  the  end  of 
the  year  of  $1,616.29.  But  as  most  of  this  balance  was  in 
the  form  of  orders  drawn  on  the  current  fund  and  not  re- 
deemed, the  treasury  was  not  relieved  from  embarrassment 
by  the  presence  of  this  balance.  Money  was  scarce  in  this 
pioneer  country,  and  the  collection  of  taxes  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  city  government  was 
next  to  impossible.1  The  general  financial  crash  of  1837 
added  to  the  confusion  and  disorganization  of  local  finan- 
cial affairs.  To  relieve  the  local  monetary  stringency  the 
council  authorized  the  mayor  to  issue  interest  bearing  treas- 
ury notes  "for  the  liquidation  of  debts  against  the  city."2 
These  notes  passed  from  hand  to  hand,  were  tenderable  to 
the  collector  of  taxes,  and  to  the  treasurer  for  licenses.3 
Had  the  council  made  some  slight  provision  for  the  redemp- 
tion of  these  notes  it  might  have  tided  the  city  over  the 
financial  crises  without  serious  embarrassment.  But  as  it 
made  no  provision  for  their  redemption  the  notes  soon  de- 
preciated in  value  until  they  were  worth  only  62^  cents  on 
the  dollar.4  This  depreciation  was  due  not  alone  to  the  fact 
that  the  treasurer  could  not  pay  the  notes,  but  as  well  to  the 
fact  that  he  was  unable  to  meet  the  interest  charges.5  In 
1847  about  $8000  of  immediate  indebtedness  of  the  corpora- 
tion was  in  city  orders  in  the  hands  of  the  citizens.  The 
depreciated  value  of  these  orders  was  extremely  demoralizing 
to  the  credit  of  the  government,  inasmuch  as  persons  furnish- 
ing labor  or  supplies  charged  from  20  per  cent,  to  30  per  cent. 


1  Council    Proceedings,  1836,   July  27.      4  Mayor's   Inaugural,   1847. 

2  Ibid,  1836,   May  25.  5  Ibid. 

3  Ibid. 


8 

more  than  the  labor  or  supplies  were  worth,  and  the  council 
allowed  the  bills.  This  demoralized  condition  of  finances 
continued  until  Henry  B.  Payne,  a  member  of  the  council, 
came  forward  with  a  plan  to  relieve  the  disorganized  condi- 
tion of  the  financial  department,  in  I847-1  His  plan  was  to 
fund  the  city's  debts  by  computing  the  interest  on  the  out- 
standing orders  up  to  March  15,  1848,  to  issue  new  bonds 
for  the  amount,  one-fourth  to  be  paid  March  15,  1848,  and 
the  remainder  in  three  equal  installments,  with  interest  pay- 
able annually  from  the  above  date.  The  orders  issued  for 
the  claims  accruing  for  the  general  expenses  of  the  current 
year  were  made  payable  March  15,  1848.  These  orders 
only,  and  money  were  receivable  for  the  general  taxes  of 
1847.  Mr.  Payne's  plan  was  adopted.  The  finance  com- 
mittee refunded  the  outstanding  orders  of  the  city,  and  the 
mayor  issued  new  bonds  for  these  orders  on  the  requisition 
of  the  committee.  A  special  tax  was  satisfied  on  the  tender 
of  money  only.  This  measure  introduced  some  system  into 
the  financial  administration  of  the  city.  The  city  fathers 
had  learned  by  experience  that  the  obligations  of  the  cor- 
poration could  be  met  only  by  providing  a  specific  fund  to 
meet  the  same  when  they  fell  due.  The  experience  of  the 
first  ten  years  had  demonstrated  beyond  question  that  treas- 
ury notes  or  city  orders  can  not  safely  be  received  in  pay- 
ment of  taxes  unless  it  be  in  anticipation  of  revenue  from 
some  other  source.  The  period  just  treated  was  marked  by 
retrenchment  in  salaries  of  officers,  that  of  the  council  having 
been  taken  away  entirely,  while  the  mayor's  pay  was  reduced 
first,  to  $395  a  year,  and  then  to  $100  a  year. 

In  May,  1836,  the  debt  of  the  city  was  $23,885. 77,2  or 
something  near  $4  per  capita.  This  was  an  inheritance  from 
the  village  corporation  and  had  come  about  through  perma- 
nent improvements  which  involved  a  good  deal  of  litigation 
and  heavy  damage  claims.  The  chief  additions  to  this  debt 
in  the  first  ten  years  under  the  city  charter  were  $6000  in 
Academy  bonds,  and  $7,820  in  Lake  Shore  bonds  issued  to 
raise  revenue  to  protect  and  improve  the  lake  front.  At  the 
end  of  the  first  decade  the  liabilities  of  the  city  stood  as 
follows. 


1  Council    Proceedings,    1847,    July   3.       2  Council  Proceedings,  1836,  May  9. 


9 

Academy  Lot  Bonds  at  6  per  cent $6,000 

Lake  Shore  Bonds  at  7  per  cent 7,820 

Installment  on  School  Lot 264 

Deferred  payment  of  funded  debt 7>314 

Immediate  indebtedness   1,500 

Total    22,898 

These  figures  indicate  that  the  city  debt  was  a  fairly  con- 
stant quantity,  and  that  expenditures  were  not  governed  by 
the  annual  income.  The  budget  had  little  influence  in  lim- 
iting the  expenses  of  the  departments.  The  rate  limit  was 
fixed  by  the  state  legislature,  but  this  was  rendered  nugatory 
by  overdrawing  orders  against  the  funds,  and  after  a  term 
of  years  funding  the  debt  by  an  issue  of  bonds.  During  the 
remainder  of  this  period  there  was  little  change  in  the  finan- 
cial condition  until  the  last  three  years  under  the  charter  of 
1836.  From  1849  to  J852  the  debt  had  more  than  doubled, 
being  in  the  latter  year  about  $55,000.  The  receipts  from 
general  taxes  were  more  than  doubled  too,  but  the  revenue 
was  not  sufficient  to  meet  the  expenses.  The  additional 
expense  calling  for  this  increase  in  revenue  was  due  to 
additional  expenditures  in  the  fire  and  school  departments 
and  for  lighting  purposes. 

In  1846  the  city  embarked  in  railroad  enterprise.  The 
question  had  been  voted  upon  at  the  spring  election  and 
received  the  hearty  endorsement  of  the  voters.  Aiccordinglv 
$100,000  in  Cleveland,  Columbus  and  Cincinnati  stock  was 
subscribed  for,  and  city  bonds  to  that  amount  were  issued 
in  payment.  The  next  year  $100,000  additional  stock  in  the 
same  road  was  taken.  The  interest  on  these  bonds  was  met 
by  annual  assessment  for  interest  charges.  In  1848  the 
voters  were  called  upon  again  to  decide  on  a  subscription  to 
the  Cleveland  and  Pittsburgh  road.  The  vote  was  almost 
unanimous  for  the  subscription.1  This  road,  one  hundred 
miles  in  length,  connected  the  Ohio  Valley  with  the  lake, 
and  passed  through  rich  coal  fields.  The  return  from  these 
investments  will  be  discussed  later.  Besides  the  benefit 
derived  from  these  roads  through  increased  traffic  th?™ 
was  another  economic  result.  The  protection  of  the  lake 
front  against  the  encroachments  of  the  water  had  been 

1  Cleveland  Plain   Dealer,   April  4,  1848. 


10 

difficult  and  expensive.  In  1849  tne  council  sold  to  the 
C.,  C.  &  C.  railroad  company  a  strip  along  the  shore,  for 
which  the  company  paid  $15000  in  their  stock.  The  city  re- 
served 132  feet  in  width  for  landing  purposes  for  boats  at 
the  end  of  the  pier,  and  guaranteed  to  other  railroad  com- 
panies the  use  of  the  lake  shore,  and  relieved  the  city  of 
further  expense  and  anxiety  in  that  direction.  The  city's 
interest  in  railroad  investments  came  to  an  end  under  the 
new  state  constitution  adopted  in  1851.  The  constitutional 
convention  was  petitioned  to  take  from  cities  the  power  to 
subscribe  for  rail  road  stock.  The  argument  advanced  was 
that  it  was  unjust  for  those  who  had  no  property  and  there- 
fore paid  no  taxes  to  saddle  upon  property  owners  the  debts 
incurred  by  embarking  in  railroad  ventures.  Then  too,  it 
was  urged  that  those  enterprises  added  nothing  to  the  value 
of  merchandise  and  personal  property,  but  only  to  real  prop- 
erty.1 But  perhaps  the  fact  that  some  cities  came  to  grief 
by  subscribing  to  private  enterprise  was  the  most  potent 
factor  in  introducing  a  prohibitory  clause  into  the  state  con- 
stitution of  1851. 

STREETS. 

The  old  English  Plan  of  caring  for  the  highways  by  com- 
pelling the  inhabitants  to  furnish  labor2  was  adopted  in  the 
village,  and  continued  in  the  city.  The  council  appointed 
one  or  more  supervisors  to  direct  the  work  on  the  streets. 
The  road  tax  levied  by  law  was  collected  by  the  treasurer  of 
Cuyahoga  County  who  turned  it  over  to  the  city  treasurer 
to  be  expended  on  the  streets  under  the  direction  of  the 
council.  The  supervisor  was  given  a  per  cent,  on  the  amount 
of  poll  tax  he  collected  which  led  .to  a  pretty  careful  collec- 
tion of  the  revenue  from  this  source.  The  poll  tax  furnished 
about  one-fifth  of  the  road  funds.  All  male  citizens  between 
the  ages  of  twenty-one  and  fifty-five  years  of  age  were 
charged  with  this  tax.  The  expense  of  grading  highways 
was  not  so  great  as  in  some  cities,  the  soil  being  of  a  loose 
sand,  and  therefore  easily  broken  up. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  POLICE. 

It  was  enjoined  upon  both  the  mayor  and  council  to  pre- 
serve the  good  order  of  the  city,  but  the  active  police  duties 

1  Cleveland    Plain    Dealer,    April   5,    1851. 

2  Allinson    &    Penrose,    "Philadelphia,    P.    25." 


11 

were  vested  in  the  city  marshal,  who  as  to  tenure  of  office 
was  independent  of  both  mayor  and  council,  being  annually 
elected  by  popular  vote.1  But  while  the  marshal  was  inde- 
pendent of  the  council  in  tenure  of  office,  the  council  exer- 
cised more  or  less  direct  control  over  him.  It  fixed  his 
salary,  his  bond,  prescribed  his  duties,  and  its  ratification  of 
his  deputy  appointment  was  necessary,  while  it  held  him 
strictly  to  account  for  the  official  acts  of  his  assistants,  but 
for  his  own  official  acts  he  was  responsible  directly  to  the 
people. 

The  first  change  in  the  charter  of  1836  introducing  immed- 
iate accountability  was  in  the  department  of  police,  by 
which  change  the  removal  of  the  marshal  and  his  dputies 
was  made  a  right  of  the  council.2  Removals  could  be  made 
only  for  neglect  of  duty  or  other  good  cause,  and  the  marshal 
had  to  be  notified  specifically  of  the  charges  preferred  against 
him  and  given  a  hearing  in  his  defense. 

FIRE  DEPARTMENT. 

The  earliest  attempts  on  the  part  of  the  city  to  prevent 
ravages  by  fire  were  the  providing  of  public  wells  and  cis- 
terns at  convenient  places.  Various  fire  brigades  and  hook 
and  ladder  companies  were  organized  in  different  parts  of 
the  city.  These,  as  is  the  case  in  the  infancy  of  most  cities, 
were  strictly  volunteer  organizations.  These  continued  to 
be  the  basis  of  organization  as  late  as  1862.  In  1829  the 
village  trustees  had  invested  $285  in  a  fire  engine.3  Here 
historically,  we  may  say,  was  the  beginning  of  the  fire  de- 
partment. 

The  council  during  the  first  years  of  its  existence  passed 
considerable  legislation,  mostly  of  a  precautionary  nature, 
such  as  describing  the  manner  in  which  stove  pipes  be  in- 
serted into  the  chimneys,  how  combustibles  be  kept,  etc.4 
Every  household  containing  one  fire  place  or  stove  was 
required  to  keep  "one  good  painted,  leathern  fire  bucket ;" 
every  household  containing  two  or  more  fire  places  or  stoves 
was  to  keep  two  such  buckets,  and  one  additional  bucket  for 
every  two  additional  fires  or  stoves.5 

1  Charter  of  1836,  sec.  4.  4  Act  of  May  7,  1836. 

2  Act   of   Feb.   18,   1848.  5  Act  of  Nov.  30,  1836. 

3  Magazine  of  Western  History,  Vol.  4,  p.  74. 


12 

In  1837  a  fire  warden  was  appointed  for  each  ward,  and 
whenever  ordered  'by  the  council  made  examination  of  all 
houses  in  his  ward  to  ascertain  their  condition  regarding 
danger  from  fire.  The  general  assembly  of  the  state  encour- 
aged the  organization  of  volunteer  companies  by  granting 
privileges  and  immunities  to  members.1  Active  members 
were  free  from  military  duty  during  time  of  peace,  exempt 
from  labor  on  the  highways,  and  from  serving  as  jurors. 
After  five  years  of  service  members  were  forever  free  from 
the  above  duties  so  long  as  they  resided  within  the  city.  The 
chief  of  the  fire  department  received  a  salary  of  $150  per  year 
for  his  services,  while  the  other  members  of  the  department 
received  one  dollar  per  day  for  each  day  they  were  in  attend- 
ance to  operate  the  engine.  The  organization  of  the  depart- 
ment was  vested  in  the  council,  but  the  council  was  controlled 
to  a  great  extent  by  the  wishes  of  the  companies,  allowing 
them  to  suggest  names  for  chief  engineer  and  two  assistants.2 
This  custom  was  enacted  into  a  law,3  and  the  companies 
then  completed  their  own  organization. 

TAVERN  LICENSES. 

Under  the  act  of  incorporation  of  1836  the  city  council  was 
given  authority  to  grant  licenses  to  tavern  keepers, 
etc.  In  1839  the  power  was  taken  from  the  council 
and  lodged  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas. 
There  is  no  hint  in  the  council  proceedings  nor 
in  the  local  press  of  this  time  as  to  the  cause  for  this 
change.  But  when,  in  1845  an  effort  was  made  to  vest  in 
the  council  the  right  to  appoint  beef  inspectors,  the  mat- 
ter was  referred  to  a  select  committee  of  the  council  as  a 
subject  for  report.  The  majority  report  was  against  the 
measure.  As  an  argument  in  favor  of  the  report  the  major- 
ity affirmed  that  the  transfer  of  power,  from  the  council 
to  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  to  grant  tavern  liceses  was 
made  on  the  petition  of  many  of  the  best  and  most  influential 
citizens  of  Cleveland.  The  power  was  a  charter  power  of 
the  council  but  was  looked  upon  as  interefering  with  the  elec- 
tions and  other  insterests  of  the  city  government,  as  it  gave 
the  council  a  dangerous  patronage.4  The  change  was  a  dis- 
appointment, as  might  have  been  expected,  for  there  was  the 

1  Act  of  Feb.  8,  1847. 

2  Council   Proceedings,  1836,   May  18. 

3  Ibid,    1847,    August   7. 

4  Majority  Report,  published  in  the  Cleveland  Herald,  January  15,  1845. 


13 

same  temptation  to  the  judge  as  to  the  council  to  have  a 
strong  following  and  to  use  his  patronage  to  that  end.  The 
judicious  exercise  of  the  license  power  was  essential  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  city.  The  council  by  its  charter  was  the 
guardian  of  these  interests,  and  was  charged  with  the  pres- 
ervation of  good  order  in  the  taverns  and  other  places  of  en- 
tertainment in  the  city.  Yet  the  police  power  of  regulation 
by  license  was  lodged  in  other  hands,  and  was  not  exer- 
cised by  the  council.1 

For  a  time  the  principle  of  "home  rule"  was  applied  to  the 
regulation  of  the  liquor  traffic,  authority  having  been  given 
to  citizens  to  determine  whether  there  should  be  license  or 
no  license.  Later  the  council  passed  a  resolution  praying  the 
General  Assembly  to  repeal  so  much  of  the  law  as  required  a 
vote  for  license  or  no  license  relating  to  Cleveland,  and 
provide  for  the  appointment  of  three  commissioners  by  the 
court,  to  issue  licenses  to  proper  applicants  on  payment  of 
the  license  charges.2  The  request  was  not  granted  but  two 
years  later  the  essence  of  the  resolution  was  incorporated 
in  a  law.  Instead  of  vesting  the  appointing  power  in  the 
court  it  was  given  to  the  council.  This  change  gave  the  coun- 
cil an  indirect  power  over  licenses  by  vesting  their  issue 
in  a  board  of  excise  commissioners  appointed  by  the  council. 
License  fees  ranged  from  $20  to  $100.  The  license  law  was 
omitted  from  the  constitution  of  1851. 

POOR  RELIEF. 

The  charter  gave  the  council  authority  to  provide  for  the 
relief  of  the  poor,  but  nothing  was  done  in  the  way  of  build- 
ing a  city  poor  house  until  1849,  a^  which  time  the  council 
was  authorized  to  levy  a  tax  for  one  or  more  years  for  the 
purpose  of  erecting  and  maintaining  a  poor  house  for  the 
poor  and  indigent  of  the  city.3  The  care  of  the  poor  had  de- 
volved upon  the  township  trustees.  The  city  had  leased  to  the 
township,  grounds  within  the  city  limits  for  the  erection  of 
a  poor  house.  In  as  much  as  nineteen-twentieths  of  the  ex- 
pense of  erecting  and  maintaining  the  institution  fell  upon  the 
citizens  of  Cleveland,  the  township  trustees  presented  the 
lease  and  the  poor  house  to  the  city,  praying  the  authorities 


1  Cleveland   Herald,   November  28,  1845       3  Act  of  March  13,  1849. 

2  Council   proceedings,  1848,  Jan.   9. 


14 

to  accept  it,  as  they  could  care  for  the  poor  better  than  the 
township.  The  only  condition  of  surrender  was  that  the  city 
should  take  care  of  its  own  poor.  The  council  accepted  the 
condition  and  the  gift.1.  There  was  a  general  increase  of 
pauperism  at  this  time  owing  to  the  financial  depression  of 
1837,  There  were  many  depending  on  the  poor  relief  who 
were  able  and  apparently  willing  to  work  but  work  was  not 
to  be  had.2  This  charge  brought  a  revulsion.  The  council 
refused  to  vote  the  budget.  Finally  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  mayor  the  council  voted  the  annual  budget  with 
the  proviso  that  no  part  of  the  general  tax  be  devoted  to 
the  support  of  the  poor,  that  the  return  from  tavern  and 
grocers'  licenses  and  fines  be  appropriated  to  that  purpose.3 
This  sentiment  prevailed,  and  the  council  voted  the  annual 
budget.  The  refusal  of  the  council  to  vote  the  budget  was 
not  because  it  objected  to  caring  for  the  poor,  but  because 
it  was  averse  to  having  this  function  depending  upon  the  city 
government.  On  the  refusal  of  the  council  to  perform  these 
duties  the  township  trustees  again  took  up  the  burden.4  The 
whole  weight  of  .the  work  was  not  thrown  upon  the  trustees. 
The  council  took  measures  for  the  building  of  a  city  hospital 
where  it  might  take  care  of  the  sick. 

The  cholera  had  found  its  way  to  the  city  and  precaution- 
ary measures  were  necessary  to  guard  against  its  ravages. 
The  hospital  was  put  under  the  management  of  the  board  of 
health  which  was  in  reality  a  council  committee.  This  ar- 
rangement continued  for  about  twelve  years,  when  the  city 
built  a  city  poor  house.  The  entire  management  of  this  in- 
stitution was  vested  in  a  board  of  trustees,  the  council  hav- 
ing the  right  only  to  make  the  tax  levy. 

SANITARY  REGULATIONS. 

The  sanitary  regulations  of  Cleveland  first  took  the  form 
of  council  ordinances.  The  marshal  and  his  deputies  were 
expected  to  exercise  vigilance  as  they  made  their  rounds  over 
the  city.  The  superintendent  of  markets  looked  after  the  san- 
itary condition  of  the  stalls  and  grounds.  Butchers  and 
venders  of  meat  were  to  be  cleanly  clad,  while  dogs  and  of- 
fensive animals  were  to  be  kept  out  of  the  market  stalls.  The 

1  Council   Proceedings,  1837,  April  19.      3  Council    Proceedings,    1838,    June    0. 

2  Ibid,  1838,   Jan.   31.  4  Ibid,    1839,    July   25. 


15 

first  board  of  health  in  the  city  was  appointed  in  1836  by  the 
council,  and  consisted  of  the  mayor  and  four  other  members 
of  the  legislative  branch  of  the  government.1  The  board  of 
health  was  not  a  permanent  agent  of  administration,  but  was 
allowed  to  pass  out  of  existence  when  the  cause  for  which 
it  was  created  was  removed.  It  was  not  called  into  existence 
again  until  the  fear,  or  actual  presence,  of  some  infectious 
or  contagious  disease  called  for  sanitary  regulations. 

The  General  Assembly  in  1850  empowered  the  council  to 
organize  a  board  of  health,  from  which  time  the  board  be- 
came a  permanent  institution,  and  an  agent  separate  from 
the  council.  The  council  was  still  represented  on  the  board 
through  its  clerk,  who  was  also  clerk  of  the  board  of  health.2 
Executive  concentration  was  sought  by  naming  one  of  the 
members  "acting  members"  and  paying  him  for  his  services. 

Street  cleaning,  .which  is  an  important  item  in  producing 
good  sanitary  conditions,  did  not  receive  much  attention. 
Owners  and  occupants  of  lots  abutting  certain  streets  were 
to  clean  these  streets,  lanes  and  sidewalks  thoroughly,  once 
a  fortnight,  from  April  to  November.  Superior  street  which 
was  the  pricipal  business  street  was  to  be  cleaned  every 
Friday  morning.  The  dirt  collected  in  heaps  by  the  property 
owners  was  carted  away  at  the  city's  expense. 

PUBUC  FRANCHISES. 

The  problem  of  dealing  with  private  corporations  under 
the  first  charter  did  not  carry  with  it  many  difficulties,  for 
corporations  had  not  yet  taken  on  such  proportions,  and  did 
not  perform  such  an  important  part  in  the  affairs  of  the  city 
as  at  present.  Among  the  first  franchises  granted  to  pri- 
vate corporations  was  that  granted  in  1849  to  tne  Cleveland 
Gas  Light  and  Coke  Co.  The  city  has  kept  a  tighter  hand  on 
its  gas  companies  than  on  any  other  corporation  to  which  it 
has  given  privileges. 

In  consideration  of  the  privilege  of  laying  pipes  in  the 
streets  the  council  demanded  that  the  rates  for  gas  furnished 
the  city  should  not  exceed  the  rate  current  in  Cincinnati  or 
Buffalo,  and  that  the  price  to  citizens  must  not  exceed  three 
dollars  per  thousand  feet.  The  contracts  with  the  company 
were  entered  into  by  the  city  for  terms  of  ten  years,  at  the 


1  Council  Proceedings,  1836,  June  9.       2  Council   Proceedings,  1850,   April,  18. 


16 

end  of  which  time  the  price  of  gas  was  again  subject  to  revis- 
ion. By  reserving  the  right  to  fix  the  maximum  price  of  gas 
the  city  has  kept  the  rate  down  to  reasonable  figures  when 
compared  with  other  cities.  This  mode  of  dealing  with  the 
gas  companies  did  not  yield  public  revenue,  but  the  reduc- 
tions in  the  price  of  gas  resulted  in  considerable  saving  to  the 
municipality  in  the  lighting  of  its  streets  and  public  places 
as  well  as  to  the  citizens  in  domestic  consumption. 


PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION. 

The  early  schools  of  Cleveland  were  not  pubic  institu- 
tions. There  was  no  regular  system  of  schools  and  no  legal 
provision  made  for  their  maintenance  until  the  adoption  of 
the  charter  of  1836.  There  were  schools  of  a  semi-public 
character  under  the  village  organization.  Some  of  the  citi- 
zens in  their  private  capacity  had  raised  a  sum  of  money 
($198.70)  to  build  a  school  house.  The  trustees  of  the  vil- 
lage in  1817  reimbursed  these  citizens  out  of  the  public  funds 
and  assumed  sole  control  of  the  school  house.1  The  trus- 
tees then  rented  the  house  to  a  duly  qualified  teacher  who 
managed  the  school  in  accordance  with  his  ideas  of  a  system 
of  education. 

The  school  conducted  in  this  building  was  free  only  to 
those  children  whose  parents  were  too  poor  to  pay  for  in- 
struction. 

Being  authorized  by  the  charter  of  1836  to  provide  for  the 
organization  and  support  of  common  schools,  the  council  be- 
gan its  work  in  1834  W  leasing  buildings  for  school  purposes 
until  the  necessary  school  buildings  could  be  erected.  The 
General  Assembly  fixed  the  maximum  limit  of  tax  for  school 
purposes  at  one  mill  on  the  dollar,  county  valuation.  The 
council  levied  but  a  half  mill,  which  returned  $2830.  The 
expenditure  for  tuition  for  this  year  was  $700  or  about  five 
dollars  per  pupil  in  attendance.  The  balance  of  the  fund 
after  paying  for  fuel  was  applied  to  the  liquidation  of  the 
debt  incurred  in  the  erection  of  school  buildings. 

The  management  of  the  schools  was  then  vested  in  a  board 
of  school  managers,  appointed  by  the  council.  The  district 
was  the  basis  of  representation  on  the  board,  there  being  one 
member  from  each  district.  The  districts  at  first  were  made 

1  Freese's  Early  History  of  Cleveland  Public  Schools,  p.  5. 


17 

coextensive  with  the  wards.  These,  as  necessity  arose,  were 
subdivided.1  The  spirit  of  decentralization  impaired  the  ef- 
ficiency of  the  early  schools.  There  was  no  central  authority 
liy  which  uniformity  could  be  established  either  in  the  meth- 
ods of  instruction  and  organization  or  in  the  text  books  used. 
The  creation  of  the  office  of  superintendent  of  instruction  by 
the  General  Assembly  in  1853  was  designed  to  bring  about 
centralized  management,  but  his  efforts  for  a  time  were  baf- 
fled when  he  attempted  to  unite  classes  in  the  same  grade. 
A  cry  went  up  from  the  local  districts  about  their  wards, 
their  districts,  their  rights  to  a  full  grown  school.2 

Previous  to  the  appointment  of  a  superintendent  of  in- 
struction an  attempt  had  been  made  to  secure  centralization 
of  management  and  responsibility  by  making  one  of  the 
members  of  the  board  "acting  manager"  to  whom  was  dele- 
gated the  supervision  of  the  "ordinary  affairs"  of  the  schools, 
and  who  received  a  small  stipend  for  his  services. 

A.  rather  peculiar  functionary  of  this  time  was  the  school 
r.  Visiting-  committees  consisting  of  three  members 
from  each  ward,3  appointed  by  the  council  on  recommenda- 
tion of  the  school  managers  made  occasional  visits  (usually 
once  a  year)  to  the  different  schools  in  the  city,  and  reported 
in  the  council  on  the  condition  of  the  schools,  and  the  action 
of  the  board  of  managers.  These  visiting  committees  were  a 
sort  of  connecting  link  between  the  people  and  the  council. 
They  were  usually  the  best  educated  men  of  the  wards,  and 
were  selected  because  of  personal  fitness.  When  the  number 
of  schools  was  small  this  system  of  management  worked 
fairly  well.  Hut  when  the  number  of  schools  had  greatly  in- 
creased, the  demands  upon  the  time  of  the  acting  manager 
were  greater  than  he  could  respond  to,  as  he  received  only 
$300  a  year  for  his  sevices.  The  visiting  committee,  which 
ved  no  compensation  for  its  services,  would  not  give 
the  time  to  their  duties  necessary  to  examine  carefully  the 
condition  of  the  schools.  The  appointment  of  a  general  sup- 
erintendent of  instruction  became  necessary.  Of  this  of- 
ficer I  have  already  spoken.  The  arrangement  made  by 
the  board  of  managers  was  simply  a  transfer  of  the  duties 
and  salary  of  the  acting  manager  to  the  High  School  Prin- 
cipal, who  performed  the  duties  of  both  principal  and  super- 


1  Charter  of  1836,  sees.  19,  21.  3  City   Ordinances,  1856,   p.   200. 

2  Freese's  Early  History  of  Cleveland  Public  Schools,  p.  24. 


18 

intendent.  In  the  subject  of  education  the  Western  Reserve 
has  been  second  to  no  other  section  of  the  State,  especially 
is  this  true  of  public  school  facilities.  Cleveland  has  the 
distinction  of  establishing  the  first  High  School  in  Ohio. 
This  institution  was  created  at  the  suggestion  of  the  mayor 
in  1846.  The  school  during  the  first  year  was  open  to  boys 
only,  but  a  department  for  girls  was  opened  the  next  year. 
The  advent  of  the  High  School  created  a  great  ferment.  The 
matter  was  without  precedent  in  the  state,  and,  it  was  urged 
bv  the  hostile  faction,  was  without  warrant  of  law.  A  special 
committee  of  the  council  took  the  subject  under  advisement. 
The  majority  reported  adversely,  declaring  the  High  School 
illegal  and  its  support  as  a  public  charge  inexpedient.  The 
dissenting  member  brought  in  a  minority  report  and  took  the 
opposite  stand.  The  minority  report  was  adopted  and  the 
High  School  was  continued  the  next  year  on  the  same  basis 
as  before.1  During  the  winter  the  General  Assembly  enacted 
a  law  authorizing  the  council  to  establish  and  maintain  the 
High  School.2  This  act  removed  all  vestige  of  doubt  as 
to  the  legality  of  the  school.  In  addition  to  the  public  school 
work  of  the  city  an  industrial  school  was  established  by  the 
council  in  1856. 

The  city  provided  buildings  and  equipment  and  a  small 
yearly  monetary  contribution,  which  varied  somewhat  on 
either  side  of  $3000.  The  industrial  school  was  aided  a  good 
deal  by  private  benevolences,  especially  by  the  Children's 
Home,  and  Children's  Aid  Societies.  In  fact  the  entire  man- 
agement of  the  industrial  school  was  vested  in  the  trustees  of 
the  children's  Aid  Society.  The  small  farm  tilled  by  the  in- 
mates of  the  school  provided  a  large  part  of  the  subsistence 
for  the  support  of  the  institution.  The  trustees,  as  far  as 
possible,  secured  homes  for  the  unfortunates  in  their  charge, 
among  citizens  of  the  community.  The  school  during  the 
first  eighteen  years  of  its  existence  enrolled  more  than  5000 
pupils. 

Occasional  changes  were  made  in  the  size  of  the  board  of 
managers  but  the  election  of  the  board  remained  a  function 
of  the  council  up  to  1859.  After  this  date  the  board  of  edu- 
cation was  elected  by  popular  vote.  Under  the  old  regime 
the  board  had  little  independent  power  in  the  management 
and  direction  of  the  financial  affairs  of  the  schools.  Aside 


1  Council   Proceedings,   1847,   April   15.  '2  Act  of  Feb.  18,  1848. 


19 

from  the  hiring  of  teachers  the  board  stood  to  the  council 
much  in  the  relation  of  a  committee,  having  power  only  to 
recommend.  The  board  certified  to  the  council  the  tax  levy 
but  the  council  used  its  judgment  about  accepting  the  certi- 
fication. The  board  could  make  no  expenditure  of  money 
for  any  school  or  school  building  without  authority  from  the 
council.  By  a  change  made  in  1864  the  board  was  empow- 
ered to  determine  the  tax  rate  and  their  action  was  final,  the 
council  having  no  power  to  revise.1.  Four  years  later  the 
board  was  given  full  control  of  all  public  money  raised  for 
school  purposes. 

After  the  change  was  made  which  threw  the  board  of  edu- 
cation open  to  popular  election  the  school  system  became 
badly  mixed  up  with  ward  politics.  The  boards  were  large, 
containing  at  one  time  twenty-five  members.  In  the  early 
days  of  the  school  system,  when  the  boards  were  chosen  by 
the  council,  men  were  chosen  because  of  personal  fitness. 
They  were  men  of  liberal  education,  graduates  and  represen- 
tatives of  Dartmouth,  Williams,  Jefferson,  Brown,  Hamilton, 
Yale,  Union  and  Oberlin.2  The  first  acting  manager  was  a 
graduate  of  Dartmouth,  and  served  on  the  board  of  education 
lift  ecu  years.3  Under  the  elective  system  the  board  degen- 
erated, not  so  much  because  it  was  elected  by  popular  vote 
as  because  it  was  a  large  board  and  was  without  a  respon- 
sible head.  Men  of  fitness  on  the  board  were  few,  and  men 
with  long  experience  in  the  work  were  fewer.  The  average 
length  of  membership  from  1882  to  1892  was  not  more  than 
a  year  and  a  half.  The  effect  of  frequent  changes  and  large 
boards  will  be  discussed  under  the  reform  movement. 

'Hie  standard  of  scholarship  in  these  schools  stood  high 
when  compared  with  the  public  schools  of  other  large  cities 
of  the  state,  while  the  cost  per  pupil  has  been  considerably 
less. 

When  the  cost  for  tuition  in  Cleveland  was  $14.17  per 
pupil  the  cost  at  Cincinnati  was  $17.40, 

An  important  adjunct  to  Cleveland's  Public  School  Sys- 
tem is  the  manual  training  school.  This  local  institution  has 
its  origin  in  a  stock  company  incorporated  in  1885,  with  a 
capital  stock  of  $25,000.  A  building  was  fitted  up  near  the 
Central  High  School  where  the  boys  might  learn  the  use  of 


1  Act  of   March  25,   1864. 

2  Freese's   Karly  History  of   Cleveland   Public   Schools,   p.   C9. 
::   I'n-cse's   Early   History  of   Cleveland   Public   Schools,   p.   76. 


20 

tools  and  machinery,  and  receive  instruction  in  mechanics, 
physics,  chemistry  and  mechanical  drawing.  The  General 
Assembly  granted  permission  to  the  school  board  to  levy  an 
annual  tax  of  one-fifth  mill  for  the  support  of  the  institution. 
A  charge  of  $5.00  per  term  is  made  to  each  pupil  to  pay  for 
materials  used  during  the  term.  The  institution  has  been 
rather  popular  among  the  boys.  In  1888  out  of  a  class  of  75 
boys  who  entered  the  Central  High  School,  48  of  them  began 
at  the  same  time  a  course  in  manual  training.1 

CHARACTER  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  OK  mis  iV.Kion. 

This  we  may  call  the  formative  period  of  the  municipal 
government.  Settlers  came  together  here  from  different 
states  of  the  east  and  from  foreign  countries  bringing  with 
them  the  ideas  of  local  government  prevalent  in  their  former 
homes.  These  ideas  underwent  more  or  less  modification  by 
coming  in  contact  with  opinions  of  different  shades.  The 
result  was  a  government  containing  much  that  was  common 
to  cities  in  the  older  states,  and  some  things  which  were 
adaptations  of  older  institutions  to  new  conditions.  There 
was  no  conscious  attempt  to  copy  any  existing  form.  but 
the  institutions  of  government  were  a  growth  out  of  pe- 
culiar needs.  The  earliest  corporate  organization  was  set 
adrift  by  the  state  to  work  out  its  own  institutions  and  des- 
tiny, being  comparatively  free  from  state  interference.  There 
is  apparent  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  state  toward  the 
close  of  the  period  to  extend  a  stronger  central  control  over 
the  municipal  affairs. 

The  division  of  administrative  functions  between  the  ex- 
ecutive and  council  was  apparent,  but  the  preponderance  of 
power  was  with  the  council.  In  finance  the  government  was 
characterized  by  close  restriction  on  the  part  of  the  state,  fol- 
lowed by  full  local  liberty,  which  again  brought  its  opposite 
policy  of  state  restriction  followed  by  a  chaotic  condition  of 
financial  affairs,  a  disregard  of  budgetary  provisions,  and  an 
era  of  municipal  debt-making. 

The  latter  part  of  the  period  is  characterized  by  munici- 
pal support  to  railroads  and  public  enterprises  which  laid 
the  foundation  for  future  development  and  greatness. 


1  I  have  treated  the  school  system  connectedly  because  the  organization  of  the 
schools   was   not   affected  by   the   Act  of  1852. 


21 

A 

Furtheremore  there  was  the  division  of  the  council  into 
the  executive  committees,  which,  as  governmental  functions 
increased,  developed  into  separate  executive  departments 
with  on  or  more  commissioners  in  charge.  The  commission- 
er or  board  system  did  not  reach  its  full  development  until 
after  the  adoption  of  the  municipal  organization  act  of  1852. 
The  wants  of  the  city  during  most  of  this  period  were  simple, 
and  the  machinery  for  supplying  them  partook  of  the  same 
nature.  Judged  by  the  standard  of  that  time  the  affairs  of 
tin-  city  were  fairly  well  managed.  We  will  now  consider 
the  changes  which  took  place  after  the  adoption  of  the  con- 
stitution of  1851.  I 


PART  II. 


CLEVELAND  UNDER  GENERAL  LAWS. 

CHAPTER    I. 
THE  MUNICIPAL  ORGANIZATION  ACT  OF  1852. 

It  was  now  almost  fifty  years  since  the  constitution  of 
1802  was  drafted  and  adopted.  Political,  economic  and 
social  conditions  had  undergone  radical  changes  in  the  half 
century  just  closing. 

The  management  of  urban  affairs  had  developed  into 
an  intricate  problem,  a  problem  which  the  constitution  mak- 
ers of  that  time  were  not  able  to  solve,  though  a  brave  at- 
tempt was  made  at  its  solution.  Several  delegates  to  the 
constitutional  convention  of  1851  were  satisfied  that  a 
change  in  the  method  of  legislation  for  cities  would  work 
no  harm  at  least.1 

Corporations,  especially  those  of  a  private  nature,  had 
rapidly  multiplied.  A  belief  was  made  manifest  4<that  all 
the  corporations  of  the  State  could  be  as  well  regulated  by 
general  as  by  special  acts  of  incorporation  by  some  classifi- 
cation of  cities  by  the  number  of  inhabitants  or  by  some 
other  manner  which  might  be  thought  prudent  by  the  legis- 
lature."2 

There  was  no  loud  and  emphatic  call  for  change  from 
any  quarter.  The  provisions  under  the  constitution  of  1802, 
for  the  government  of  cities  had  worked  no  injustice  to  the 
governed  for  the  correction  of  which  the  delegates  to  the 
convention  of  1851  had  assembled.  In  all  the  speeches  de- 
livered in  this  convention  on  the  subject  of  municipal  gov- 
ernment there  is  an  entire  absence  of  charges  that  the  sys- 
tem of  special  laws  tend  to  produce  or  foster  local  evils. 
The  cities  were  fairly  well  governed  if  measured  by  the 
standard  of  that  time.  The  change  was  sought  not  so  much 
to  improve  municipal  government  as  to  strengthen  the  gen- 

1  Convention    Debates,   1850,   vol.    1,    p.   304. 
1'  ('.invention    Debates,   1850,    vol.    1,    p.    304. 


23 

eral  interests  of  the  state.  The  evils  to  be  corrected  came 
not  from  municipal  corporations,  but  from  private  corpo- 
rations. ''Three-fourths  of  the  legislation  for  several  years 
past  had  been  been  responsive  to  the  petitions  of  men  who 
came  up  asking  to  be  associated  for  certain  specific  purposes 
with  certain  powers  guaranteed  them."1  So  much  time 
was  consumed  in  the  consideration  of  the  private  matters 
that  little  time  was  left  for  business  of  a  more  general  na- 
ture. That  these  private  corporations  could  be  just  as  well 
organized  under  general  laws  was  pretty  generally  believed. 
Why  should  not  municipal  corporations  be  included?  The 
committee  on  corporations  other  than  banking,  in  their  in- 
dividual capacity  were  not  positive  on  the  subject,  but  all 
were  willing  to  make  the  experiment,  or  at  least  to  make  a 
unanimous  report  to  the  convention.2 

There  was  a  feeling  that  it  would  have  a  tendency  to  im- 
prove legislation  affecting  cities,  as  all  laws  being 
general  in  their  application  would  have  the  careful  consider- 
ation of  all  members  of  the  legislature.3  The  debate  on 
the  subject  of  corporations  was  long  and  was  characterized 
by  a  good  deal  of  fervor,  but  almost  the  entire  discussion 
related  to  private  corporations.  The  sentiment  in  favor  of 
general  laws  prevailed,  and  the  constitution  received  the 
ratification  of  the  people. 

The  General  Assembly  at  its  session  in  1852  took  up  the 
l)u  rden  of  providing  for  the  organization  of  corporations 
under  general  laws,  and  passed  the  General  Municipal  Or- 
ganization Act  on  May  3,  1852.  This  act  divided  the  cities 
of  the  state  into  two  classes.  Those  with  a  population  ex- 
ceeding twenty  thousand  inhabitants  were  deemed  cities 
of  the  first  class,  while  all  others  were  deemed  cities  of  the 
second  class.4 

The  direct  limitations  upon  the  powers  of  cities  which 
by  the  authority  of  the  constitution  the  General  Assembly 
was  enjoined  to  impose  were  restrictions  of  the  power  of 
taxation,  assessment,  borrowing  money,  contracting  debts, 
and  loaning  their  credit.5 

As  the  municipal  organization  act  did  not  become  a  law 
till  May  3,  1852,  the  spring  elections  had  already  been  held. 
The  act  did  not  take  effect  till  April,  1853.  By  that  date 

1  Convention    Debates,  1850,    vol.   1,   p.    305. 

2  Convention   Debates,   1850,   vol.   1,   p.   304. 

3  Convention   Debates,  1850,    vol.    1,   p.   306. 

4  Act  of  May  3,  1852,  sec.  41. 

5  Constitution    of    Ohio,    1851,    art.    XIII.,    sec.    6. 


24 

the  population  had  sufficiently  increased  that  Cleveland 
became  a  city  of  the  first  class.  The  effect  of  the  change 
from  one  class  to  the  other,  or  more  correctly  the  change 
from  the  old  organization  to  the  new  may  be  seen  in  the 
great  increase  in  the  number  of  offices  filled  by  popular  vote. 
The  officers  elected  by  the  people  in  1852  were  mayor,  alder- 
men, treasurer,  marshal,  sexton  and  councilmen.  In  1853 
the  electors  were  called  upon  to  choose  mayor,  police 
judge,  police  clerk,  prosecuting  attorney,  commisioner  of 
water  works,  directors  of  infirmary,  three  street  commis- 
sioners, marshal,  auditor,  treasurer,  solicitor,  fire  engineer, 
harbor  master,  sexton,  superintendent  of  markets,  sealer  of 
weights  and  measures,  city  weigher,  civil  engineer,  two  trus- 
tees (councilman)  from  each  ward,  and  the  ward  assessors. 
Besides  these  there  were  the  township  officers  consisting  of 
the  constable  and  justices  of  the  peace.  Surely  this  was  a 
ticket  which  must  have  gladdened  the  soul  of  the  most 
democratic  citizen.  The  law  makers  though  they  had  got- 
ten rid  of  special  legislation  by  this  act,  but  in  less  than 
four  years  after  its  enactment  the  legal  profession  found  a 
loop  hole  through  which  laws  could  be  passed,  general  in 
form,  though  special  to  all  intents  and  purposes.  The  re- 
sult of  this  has  been  the  passage  at  every  session  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  a  great  many  special  acts  under  the 
guise  of  general  laws. 

The  most  glaring  defect  of  the  Act  of  1852  lay  in  the  fact 
that  it  sought  to  bind  round  the  cities  of  the  state  a  mu- 
nicipal strait  jacket.  When  the  patient  became  feverish  it 
succeeded  in  breaking  the  bands.  Instead  of  organizing 
the  municipal  corporation  on  principles  the  most  general 
possible,  and  leaving  to  each  city  the  greatest  amount  of 
local  autonomy,  the  liberty  to  formulate  its  government  to 
suit  the  conditions  incident  to  geographical  position,  eco- 
nomic and  social  development,  the  Act  of  1852  went  into  a 
minute  enumeration  of  powers. 

The  two  most  noteworthy  points  under  the  Act  of  1852 
were  the  lessening  of  the  powers  of  the  mayor,  and  the  rapid 
multiplication  of  boards  as  the  administration  of  affairs  be- 
came more  complex  and  difficult.  The  mayor  became  a  sort 
of  perfunctory  signing  agent  for  the  municipality.  He  became 
less  of  a  police  officer  having  been  relieved  of  police  court 
duties  through  the  election  of  a  judge  of  police  court. 


25 

He  still  performed  such  duties  when  the  police  judge  was 
unable  to  be  present,  or  incapacitated  for  duty.1 

Under  the  old  charter  the  mayor  exerted  a  good  deal  of 
influence  in  the  directing  of  affairs.  Being  president  of 
the  council  he  always  appointed  the  standing  committees  as 
has  already  been  noted,  and  his  recommendations  were  giv- 
en respectful  recognition.3  Under  the  new  charter  the  may- 
or was  entirely  separated  from  the  council.  Altho  by  a  later 
act3  he  was  again  made  the  nominal  president  of  the  leg- 
islative body  he  rarely  exercised  this  prerogative.  The  coun- 
cil president  appointed  the  standing  committees,  therefore 
the  position  of  mayor  in  the  council  was  one  of  official  dig- 
nity rather  than  of  real  power.  It  was  evidently  expected 
that  the  mayor  would  be  a  more  or  less  influential  member 
of  the  committees  on  which  he  was  a  representative,  but 
whatever  influence  he  exerted  there  was  due  to  his  person- 
ality, and  not  to  his  executive  position.  That  the  mayors 
keenly  felt  their  importance  in  the  management  of  the  affairs 
of  the  city,  and  that  their  authority  was  more  nominal  that 
real  may  plainly  be  seen  in  Mayor  Flint's  farewell  address 
to  the  city  council  in  April,  1863.  Said  the  mayor :  "It  is 
generally  assumed  that  the  mayor  has  some  authority  over 
the  different  officers  and  department ;  but  under  our  char- 
ter his  sole  power  is  to  dismiss  one  or  all  the  subordinate 
police,  which  extreme  power  of  dismissal,  however,  mere 
enmity  towards  the  marshal,  who,  by  law,  is  constituted 
their  superior,  forbids  him  to  exercise,  except  the  marshal 
desire  it.  This  having  a  so  called  executive  officer  with 
power  to  execute  nothing  of  any  particular  import,  either 
to  check  reckless  expenditure  or  to  put  a  stop  to  unneces- 
sary additional  indebtedness  or  to  compel  under  penalty  the 
faithful  performance  of  plain  duty  by  the  different  officers 
of  the  several  departments  may  be  good  policy,  but  it  is  full 
time  it  should  be  more  generally  accepted  as  an  undeniable 
fact  that  our  Executive  officer  is  practically  without  real 
executive  powers,  the  only  proper  measure  of  his  official  re- 
sponsibility." However,  the  mayor's  position  became  some- 
what strengthened  after  the  first  decade.  The  saying,  that 
the  remedy  for  democracy  is  more  democracy  had  found  its 
fulfillment  in  throwing  almost  all  the  offices  open  to  pop- 


1  Ordinance    of   June   14,   1854.  3  Act   of   April    5,   1856. 

2  Council  Proceedings,  1838,  June  6. 


26 

ular  suffrage  and  the  subsequent  restriction  of  popular 
choice  to  the  more  general  officers  of  the  city  government. 
There  began  to  be  a  slight  gravitation  of  power  toward  the 
chief  executive  though  there  were  with  one  exception,  the 
usual  checks  and  balances  exercised  over  his  newly  acquired 
powers  by  the  council.  His  general  superintending  func- 
tions were  emphasized  by  a  new  act.1  In  the  appointment 
of  civil  engineer,2  fire  engineer  and  park  commissions3  the 
mayor's  power  was  co-ordinate  with  that  of  the  council, 
while  in  the  appointment  of  the  chief  fiscal  agent  the  mayor's 
power  became  absolute  after  i889.4  The  early  extention  of 
the  term  of  office  of  the  mayor  to  two  years  was  an  im- 
portant step  in  strengthening  the  executive  department  of 
the  government.  The  mayor  was  made  a  member  of  the 
board  of  health,  improvements  and  revision,  and  was  a  sort 
of  chief  of  police. 

CITY  COUNCIL. 

The  composition  of  the  council  was  slightly  changed, 
the  office  of  alderman  being  abolished.  As  both  kinds  of 
members  under  the  old  charter  had  composed  but  one 
chamber  this  change  was  of  little  importance  so  far  as  its 
effect  on  legislation  was  concerned.  The  council  was  com- 
posed of  two  members  from  each  ward,  one  retiring  each 
year.  Having  half  the  members  retire  each  year  gave  the 
same  continuity  to  the  life  of  the  council  as  classifying  the 
aldermen  under  the  old  charter. 

Setting  aside  the  judicial  function  as  a  constant  quantity 
and  always  falling  to  the  courts,  the  older  functions  of  the 
city  government,  we  may  say,  were  divided  between  the 
executive  and  legislative  branches  of  the  government. 

As  the  powers  of  the  executive  were  diminished  under 
the  new  charter,  it  follows  of  course,  that  those  of  the  leg- 
islative branch  were  increased.  The  most  far  reaching 
change  introduced  has  already  been  noted  in  connection 
with  the  mayor,  that  which  transferred  the  appointment 
of  standing  committees  from  the  mayor  to  the  presiding 
officer  of  the  council.  As  much  of  the  business  of  the  coun- 
cil, both  of  the  legislative  and  administrative  nature  was  ex- 
ecuted in  committees  that  was  an  important  change. 

1  Act  of  April  5,  1856.  3  Ordinance  of  August  22,  1871. 

2  Ordinance  of  May  21,  1867.  4  Revised   Statues,   1890,   sec.   1766. 


27 

The  extension  of  old,  and  the  creation  of  new,  institu- 
tions had  its  source  in  the  council.  The  creation  of  such 
subordinate  offices  as  were  needed  for  efficient  administra- 
tion was  a  power  of  the  council,  and  it  was  with  them  to  de- 
cide whether  the  office  be  made  elective  or  filled  by  council 
appointment.  There  was  no  uniform  rule,  sometimes  the 
one  method  prevailed,  sometimes  the  other.  All  powers  not 
delegated  to  other  agency  by  the  charter  resided  with  the 
council.  It  exercised  a  regulating  power  over  all  other  offi- 
cers and  departments  and  except  in  cases  where  limits  were 
set  by  the  General  Assembly  (and  these  were  rare)  set  lim- 
itations upon  the  powers  and  authority  of  the  other  de- 
partments. The  municipal  patronage  of  the  city  was  di- 
vided between  the  council  and  the  boards  in  its  ultimate  dis- 
tribution, but  primarily  most  of  it  was  at  the  disposal  of 
tin1  council. 

The  effect  of  this  policy  of  council  distribution  of  pat- 
ronage has  been  the  same  throughout  American  munici- 
palities, and  has  tended  to  corrupt  and  render  unsavory  the 
legislative  branch  of  the  government. 

ANNEXATION  OF  OHIO  CITY. 

There  grew  up  on  the  west  side  of  the  Cuyahoga  river  a 
settlement  which  developed  into  a  city.  It  received  its 
charter  of  incorporation  as  such  a  few  days  before  Cleve- 
land received  hers,  and  was  christened  Ohio  City. 

These  two  cities  were  bitter  rivals,  and  at  one  time  en- 
gaged in  a  pitched  battle,  the  cause  of  which  was  objection 
on  the  part  of  the  west  siders  to  the  construction  of  a  bridge 
across  the  Cuyahoga  river.  Fire  arms  were  displayed.  A 
field  piece  was  posted  on  the  Cleveland  side  to  rake  the 
bridge,  but  the  west  siders  got  possession  of  the  field  piece 
and  spiked  it. 

Men  on  both  sides  were  seriously  wounded.  The  dis- 
pute was  finally  settled  by  the  court.1  The  existence  of  these 
two  separate  municipalities  on  opposite  sides  of  the  river 
with  the  intense  hatred  of  each  for  the  other  was  a  grave 
hindrance  to  the  transaction  of  business  in  which  they  were 
mutually  concernd.  Agitation  for  union  had  been  on  for 
some  years.  The  proposition  had  been  voted  on  and  de- 

1  Council   Proceedings  1836,   Nov.  7. 


28 

feated.  It  was  not  till  1854  that  the  rivalry  and  hostility 
between  the  two  places  had  so  far  subsided  that  they  decided 
to  be  merged  into  one  corporation. 

On  June  6,  1854,  Ohio  City  became  the  eighth,  ninth,  tenth 
end  eleventh  wards  of  Cleveland.  This  increased  the  city 
about  one-third  both  as  to  territory  and  population.  Accord- 
ing to  the  terms  of  agreement  Cleveland  assumed  all  of 
Ohio  City's  indebtedness  which  was  about  $60,120  in  bonds 
already  due  or  falling  due  in  1864.  It  was  stipulated  by  the 
commissioners  on  annexation  that  no  benefits  to  accrue  to 
Cleveland  from  the  indebtedness  incurred  or  assets  received 
from  railroad  investments  should  ever  enure  to  that  part  of 
Cleveland  which  formerly  comprised  Ohio  City.  And  in  turn 
Ohio  City  was  free  from  any  obligation  arising  from  indebt- 
edness on  railroad  stock.  Any  surplus  after  paying  indeDt- 
edness  was  to  be  expended  in  the  purchase  of  narks  and 
public  grounds  in  Cleveland  east  of  the  Cuyahoga  river.1 

This  stipulation  was  not  carried  out,  but  the  railroad  sur- 
plus was  appropriated  to  the  liquidation  of  the  wrater  works 
indebtedness.  This  increase  in  population  and  in  territory 
necessarily  called  for  an  extension  of  the  machinery  of  gov- 
ernment. This  was  about  the  time  when  Cleveland  began 
to  make  rapid  strides  in  material  advancement.  Industrial 
enterprise  every  year  attracted  large  bodies  of  laboring  men 
and  their  families.  This  growth  in  population  and  wealth 
was  followed  by  marked  institutional  development  in  the 
city's  government. 

POUCE  DEPARTMENT. 

The  police  department  remained  in  a  rather  rudimentary 
condition  for  at  least  two  decades  after  the  adoption  of 
the  city  charter,  and  the  legislation  for  some  time  after  the 
law  makers  set  about  solving  the  police  problem  is  an  ex- 
hibition of  good  intentions  and  a  failure  to  realize  the  same. 
The  way  in  which  the  police  problem  was  taken  up  indi- 
cates doubt  and  uncertainty  as  to  where  to  vest  the  authority, 
and  to  whom  the  department  should  be  responsible.  The 
frequent  structural  changes  in  the  department  indicate 
plainly  a  good  deal  of  dissatisfaction.  At  first  it  was  left 
with  the  council  to  decide  whether  the  chief  of  police,  his 
lieutenants  and  the  night  watch  be  appointed  by  the  mayor 

1  Mayor's   Annual   Message,   1S5G. 


20 

or  elected  by  popular  vote.  After  two  years  of  experiment- 
ing the  mayor,  who  was  the  nominal  head  of  the  police  force, 
was  authorized  to  appoint  the  chief  of  police  and  his  assist- 
ants with  the  advice  of  the  council.  The  police  force  at  this 
time  consisted  of  a  chief,  lieutenant  and  two  day  policemen. 

The  night  force  was  composed  of  twenty  men.  The  size 
of  the  force  varied  somewhat  from  year  to  year.  A  spirit 
of  retrenchment  occasionally  seized  the  mayor  and  council. 
Their  economy  in  the  police  administration  on  such  occa- 
sions took  the  form  of  reduction  in  the  size  of  the  force.  In 
1859  the  mayor  deemed  the  office  of  lieutenant  superfluous 
and  therefore  allowed  it  to  be  vacant  the  entire  year.  The 
night  force  was  reduced  to  two-thirds  its  former  size.  The 
administration  by  this  move  saved  about  $2200  in  salaries. 
This  was  a  remarkably  small  police  force  considering  that 
Cleveland  at  this  time  had  a  population  of  60,000  and  was 
scattered  over  a  large  territory. 

The  civil  war  had  some  influence  on  the  police  organiza- 
tion. Cleveland  having  been  designated  as  a  point  for  the 
collection  and  drilling  of  troops  the  police  problem  became 
a  more  difficult  one  to  deal  with.  There  was  a  considerable 
number  of  men  whose  sympathies  were  with  the  Southern 
Confederacy.  The  presence  of  recruits  in  the  city  had  a 
tendency  to  exicte  the  turbulent  spirits  to  outbreaks  of 
violence.  However,  by  increasing  the  force  peace  was  pre- 
served moderately  well,  though  there  were  one  or  two  ser- 
ious outbreaks.1 

The  force  was  reduced  somewhat  after  the  removal  of  the 
troops,  but  the  fear  of  raids  from  the  south,  and  from  Con- 
federate refuges  and  sympathizers  in  temporary  residence 
in  Canada,2  necessitated  the  maintainance  of  a  force  some- 
what larger  than  was  maintained  under  normal  conditions. 

The  economic  conditions  resulting  from  the  war  made  a 
revision  of  the  laws  governing  police  administration  neces- 
sary. 

The  department  was  running  in  debt  rapidly,  owing  to 
two  causes.  First,  on  account  of  the  higher  wages  paid  to 
policemen,  the  result  in  part  of  depreciated  currency,  Sec- 
ond, on  account  of  the  necessary  increase  in  the  size  of  this 
force.  The  department  had  been  running  ahead  of  its  in- 


1  Mayor's  Annual    Message,  1862,   p.   7. 

2  Cleveland    Annual    Report,   1865,    p.   7. 


30 

come  for  several  years.  The  receipts  for  1858  were  $9,730 
while  the  expenditures  were  $14,571. 

Again  in  1865  tne  receipts  were  $20,322  while  the  ex- 
penditures were  $48,924.*  These  figures  indicate  the  need 
of  radical  change  in  the  source  of  the  police  fund,  or  in  its 
distribution.  There  were  defects  in  the  fundamental  law 
governing  police  administration. 

The  authority  of  the  marshal  gave  him  discretionary  pow- 
er to  discharge  persons  committed  for  non  payment  of  fines. 
The  frequent  exercise  of  this  power  on  the  part  of  an  ex- 
ecutive officer  rendered  nugatory  the  judgment  of  the 
courts.2  The  General  Assembly  took  up  the  police  problem 
in  1866. 

As  already  indicated  there  was  need  of  change  or  revision 
in  the  laws  governing  police  administration,  but  the  action 
of  the  General  Assembly  was  characterized  by  extreme 
partisan  spirit.  The  result  of  its  police  legislation  could  not 
long  abide.  The  state  legislature  provided  for  a  metropoli- 
tan police  board  composed  of  the  mayor  ex-officio  and  four 
commissioners  appointed  for  a  term  of  eight  years,  by  the 
governor  of  the  state.  This  law  was  dictated  by  purely 
partisan  motives.  The  Democrats  were  in  power  in  the  lo- 
cal government,  while  the  Republicans  were  in  the  majority 
in  the  state  government.  The  Republicans  saw  an  oppor- 
tunity to  wrest  some  of  the  political  machinery  from  demo- 
cratic control  and  they  seized  the  opportunity. .  This  legisla- 
tion of  course  could  have  no  permanence,  and  was  repealed 
by  the  next  General  Assembly  in  1868.  The  organization  and 
control  of  the  force  was  still  vested  in  a  board  of  commis- 
sioners but  the  board  was  made  elective.  One  noteworthy 
point  in  the  power  of  this  board  was  its  absolutism  in  the 
estimating  of  expenses. 

There  was  a  maximum  limit  fixed  by  the  law,  but  the 
council  had  no  power  of  revision  so  long  as  the  estimate  was 
kept  within  this  limit.  Under  the  change  made  in  1868 
the  city  was  divided  into  four  districts,  in  each  of  which  a 
police  commissioner  was  elected  by  popular  vote.  Vacancies 
in  the  police  force  were  filled  by  promotion  from  the  lower 
ranks  according  to  merit.  The  police  funds  were  derived 
principally  from  general  taxation,  supplemented  by  the  pro- 
ceeds from  the  police  court.  This  part  of  the  annual  budget 


1  Cleveland   Annual    Report,   1865,    p.    7. 

2  Cleveland    Annual    Report,    1865,    p.    9. 


31 

like  that  of  every  other  department  was  utterly  disregarded. 

The  statutory  rate  was  scrupulously  observed,  but  ex- 
penditures were  not  governed  by  the  amount  of  funds  in  the 
annual  budget  for  police  purposes. 

In  1856,  which  may  be  taken  as  an  average  year,  the 
conditions  not  being  extraordinary,  the  receipts  from  gen- 
eral taxation  for  the  police  fund  were  $10,483.  The  pro- 
ceeds from  the  police  court  were  $5,425,  which  made  a  total 
of  $15,908.  The  expenditures  in  the  department  were  $19,- 
718.  Therefore,  there  were  overdrawn  orders  on  this  fund 
to  the  amount  of  $3,810.  Of  this  amount  $2,424  was  a  de- 
ficit inherited  from  the  previous  year.  The  deficit  increased 
every  year.  At  the  end  of  1861  it  was  over  $10,000.  This 
deficit  was  probably  due  in  large  measure  to  the  increasing 
cost  of  labor.  It  was  not  until  after  the  close  of  the  war 
that  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  the  department  were 
brought  into  any  kind  of  adjustment.  The  police  expenses 
constituted  about  one-fifth  of  the  entire  budget.  Extrava- 
gance and  unsystematic  administration  were  partly  respon- 
sible for  annual  deficits,  but  the  revenue  was  insufficient  for 
the  actual  needs  of  the  department.  The  rate  for  police 
protection  was  governed  to  some  extent  by  the  rate  de- 
manded for  other  cities.  But  no  other  city  in  Ohio  has  its 
population  so  widely  dispersed  as  Cleveland,  therefore  the 
expense  of  providing  adequate  police  protection  was,  and 
still  is,  greater  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  inhabitants 
in  Cleveland  than  in  other  cities  of  the  state. 

The  department  for  several  years  had  a  very  unsavory 
reputation.  First  hand,  positive  proof  against  the  morality 
of  the  force  is  not  to  be  had,  but  the  fact  that  receivers 
and  sellers  of  stolen  goods  could  do  business  in  the  city  for 
years  and  were  known  both  at  home  and  abroad  should  be 
unknown  to  the  police  force;  that  damaging  charges  made 
by  a  "notorious  criminal'  on  trial  in  a  neighboring  city, 
against  several  members  of  the  force  were  not  investigated 
by  the  department;  that  detectives  coming  from  other 
places  to  look  up  stolen  goods  absolutely  refused  to  consult 
with  the  local  force  lest  the  receivers  should  be  notified  to 
hide  the  goods ;  that  after  the  term  of  one  of  the  police  com- 
missioners had  expired  he  acted  as  secretary  protem  of 
the  board  at  a  meeting  in  which  the  resignations  of  two 
members  of  the  detective  force  against  whom  the  charges 
had  been  made  were  accepted,  thus  putting  them  beyond  the 


32 

reach  of  an  investigation1,  forces  upon  the  student  of  Cleve- 
land municipal  affairs  the  conclusion  that  the  police  force 
was  not  all  that  could  be  desired.  A  wide  spread  belief  that 
the  police  force  stood  in  with  a  gang  of  thieves  wrought  a 
gradual  change  in  the  personnel  of  the  board  of  commis- 
sioners. The  force  was  reorganized  and  some  changes 
made.  The  experience  of  a  few  years  demonstrated  the 
fact  that  an  efficient  police  force  must  have  centralized 
management.  In  1883  the  police  commissioners  placed  the 
entire  management  of  the  force  under  the  control  of  the 
superintendent  thereby  breaking  up  the  old  method  of  in- 
terference with  the  members  of  its  force  by  the  commission- 
ers as  individuals.2 

The  department  was  materially  strengthened  in  1886  by 
the  introduction  of  the  patrol  wagon.  The  policy  of  the 
department  has  been  to  provide  one  policeman  for  about 
each  seven  hundred  inhabitants.  This  means  that  patrolmen 
is  some  of  the  outlying  districts  must  cover  a  beat  of  four 
to  seven  miles.  The  proper  patrolling  of  the  city  with  the 
regulation  number  on  the  force  is  an  impossibility. 

FIRE  DEPARTMENT. 

In  1862  the  volunteer  plan  of  organization  was  completely 
changed.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  spend  the  time  to  inquire 
why,  since  the  volunteer  fire  company  has  always  been  pro- 
nounced unsatisfactory  after  a  trial.  The  organization  of 
the  department  was  put  into  the  hands  of  the  council, 
though  there  was  a  noticeable  tendencv  to  make  the  mayor 
the  responsible  head  of  the  department.  An  important 
change  inaugurated  in  1864  by  the  introduction  of  the  tele 
graph  system,  and  the  complete  reorganization  of  the  de- 
partment by  the  introduction  of  steam  engines  and  a  paid 
service.  In  1867  the  fire  engineer  was  made  an  appointee 
of  the  council  on  recommendation  of  the  mayor,  which  was 
equivalent  to  appointment  by  the  mayor. 

The  complete  reorganization  of  the  department  was  then 
delegated  to  the  chief  engineer  and  the  council  committee  on 
fire  and  water.  They  appointed  new  men  to  the  force,  and 
discharged  such  as  proved  unfaithful  or  inefficient. 

The  management  of  the  department  indicated  great  lack 
of  economy  and  financial  foresight.  In  three  years  (1870 

1  Mayor's  Annual  Message,  1874,  p.  XXX. 

2  Mayor's  Annual  Message,  1883,  p.  XXI. 


33 

73)  it  had  overdrawn  its  funds  more  than  $200.000.  While 
some  extensions  of  the  service  had  been  made  they  were 
not  sufficient  to  warrant  such  an  increase  of  indebtedness. 
The  most  objectionable  feature  was  that  it  was  made  with- 
out warrant  of  law  by  overdrawing  funds.  The  extrava- 
gance and  wastefulness  of  the  department  were  the  cause  of 
its  reorganization  in  1874.  The  reform  in  the  department 
was  begun  in  the  fashion  in  vogue,  by  creating  a  new  com- 
mission. The  board  of  fire  commissioners  established  in 
1874  was  composed  of  the  mayor,  chairman  of  the  council 
committee  on  fire  and  water,  and  three  members  selected 
by  the  concurrent  action  of  the  mayor  and  council.1  Coun- 
cil approval  was  required  in  all  contracts  greater  than  $500 
in  amount.  Xo  officer  or  member  was  to  be  appointed  or 
removed  on  account  of  religious  or  political  opinion,  nor  to 
participate  in  the  political  campaigns  or  conventions  of  any 
political  party. 

The  difficulty  is  always  to  sustain  a  reform  movement. 
Relaxation  of  vigilance  was  followed  by  reaction.  The  evils 
of  the  board  system  manifested  themselves  here  earlier  than 
elsewhere.  As  is  pretty  sure  to  be  the  case  where  there  is 
no  responsible  head,  the  management  of  the  department  was 
Unsatisfactory.  Charges  of  irregularity  were  brought  up. 
A  council  committee  was  appointed  to  investigate.  They  re- 
ported that  they  had  found  no  intentional  wrong  doing, 
only  lack  of  business  methods,  engine  houses  built  without 
written  contracts,  and  without  letting  them  to  the  lowest 
bidder.  A  second  committee  was  appointed  which  brought 
in  a  very  damaging  report  against  the  department,  such  as 
the  mutilation  of  books,  false  reports,  building  telegraph 
lines  for  outside  parties  with  materials  owned  by  the  city. 
The  report  was  referred  to  the  newly  organized  board  which 
reported  back  that  it  had  no  authority  to  look  into  the  work 
of  the  previous  board,  so  there  the  matter  ended.  But  some- 
thing had  to  be  done.  There  had  to  be  a  remedy  provided 
against  such  abuses  and  irregularities.  The  remedy  hit 
upon  was  that  of  making  the  board  more  democratic. 

In  1876  the  board  was  made  to  consist  of  the  chairman  of 
jthe  council  committee  on  fire  and  water,  together  with  four 
citizen  members  elected  by  popular  vote,  for  a  term  of  four 
years,  one  term  expiring  each  year. 


1  71  O.  I,.  38. 


34 

This  continued  to  be  the  plan  of  organization  until  the 
change  under  the  federal  plan  in  1891,  except  that  during 
the  four  years  under  the  bicameral  experiment  the  alder- 
manic  chairman  of  the  committee  on  fire  and  water  was  a 
member  of  the  board.  In  1888  some  precautionary  steps 
were  taken  by  the  enactment  of  a  system  of  building  regula- 
tions, and  by  the  appointment  of  a  building  inspector  and 
assistants  by  the  mayor  and  council. 

WATER  WORKS. 

The  city  in  1854  took  the  steps  necessary  to  furnish  the 
citizens  with  water.  There  was  great  need  of  an  increased 
water  supply.  The  buildings  at  this  time  were  mostly  made 
of  wood.  Fires  were  numerous,  so  numerous  as  to  lead  to 
the  conclusion  that  they  were  of  incendiary  origin  in  many 
cases.  Being  obliged  to  depend  upon  reservoirs  filled  from 
wells  near  at  hand  sunk  for  fire  purposes,  the  fire  depart- 
ment was  hampered  in  its  effort  to  arrest  the  progress  of 
fire  because  of  inadequate  water  supply.  The  rapid  growth 
of  the  city  and  the  consequent  necessity  of  digging  new 
wells  and  building  new  reservoirs  to  furnish  an  adequate 
supply  of  water  was  becoming  an  important  item  of  expense. 
Besides  the  ravages  by  fire  resulting  from  insufficient  water 
facilities,  sanitary  conditions  called'  for  a  new  source  of 
supply. 

The  soil  of  the  lake  region  is  a  loose  sand  which  al- 
lows water  to  filter  through  quickly.  Under  this  sand  is  a 
layer  of  clay  which  is  almost  impervious  to  water.  These 
strata  have  an  upward  slant  from  the  lake.  The  higher 
portions  of  the  territory  being  built  up,  a  constant  filtra- 
tion from  the  cesspools  in  the  elevated  portions  of  the  city 
tended  toward  the  lower  portions  near  the  lake,  and  rend- 
ered the  water  of  the  wells  extremely  filthy.  Even  in  the 
construction  of  sewers  this  seepage  became  very  obnoxious 
to  workmen  in  the  public  works  department1  and  was  det- 
rimental to  health.  Application  was  made  to  the  General 
Assembly  in  1854  for  permission  to  issue  bonds  for  the  con- 
struction of  water  works.  Permission  was  given  with  the 
referendum  condition.  The  question  was  submitted  to  pop- 
ular vote,  and  an  emphatic  decision  in  favor  of  a  bond  issue 

1  Engineer's  Report,  1862,  p.  30. 


35 

was  rendered.  The  credit  of  the  city  was  good,  and  the 
bonds  were  disposed  of  at  a  fair  premium.  The  work  of 
construction  was  immediately  begun.  In  two  years  the 
work  had  advanced  to  such  a  stage  that  the  city  was  able  to 
furnish  lake  water  for  the  state  fair  which  met  at  Cleve- 
land in  1856.  The  issue  of  $400,000  in  bonds  was  not  suf- 
ficient to  complete  the  plant.  There  had  been  expended 
up  to  Jan.  i,  1856,  $345,644. 

There  was  needed  yet  for  the  completion  of  the  work 
$140,000.  Another  bond  issue  of  $100,000  was  voted.  The 
whole  issue  of  $500,000  was  sold  at  such  a  premium  as  to 
avail  $523,038  after  paying  all  expenses  of  issue  and  sale.1 
The  interest  on  this  fund  for  the  first  year  had  to  be  met 
by  general  taxation,  but  when  the  system  was  constructed 
the  tax  was  levied  on  the  taxable  property  adjoining  or 
bounding  upon  streets  through  which  water  pipes  passed.-' 
Private  aid  was  given  in  the  extension  of  distributing  lines. 
The  department  not  having  the  necessary  funds  for  exten- 
sion work,  in  order  to  avail  themselves  of  the  water  facili- 
ties some  citizens  advanced  the  cost  of  pipes  and  of  laying 
them.  The  trustees  gave  them  a  rebate  on  the  water  rent 
equivalent  to  seven  per  cent,  on  the  cost  advanced,  and  re- 
served the  right  to  assume  possession  of  the  pipes  on  pay- 
ment of  their  original  cost.3  According  to  the  terms  of  an- 
nexation of  Ohio  City  in  1854  the  Cleveland  investments  in 
railroad  stock  were  not  to  be  used  in  that  part  of  Cleveland 
west  of  the  Cuyahoga  river,  but  were  to  be  used  for  park- 
purposes  on  the  east  side  of  the  river.  The  authorities 
did  not  carry  out  this  agreement,  but  obtained  the  consent 
of  the  General  Assembly  to  create  a  sinking  fund  to  which 
they  appropriated  the  proceeds  growing  out  of  their  rail- 
road investments. 

This  fund  was  set  apart  to  pay  the  principal  of  the  water 
works  bonds  which  had  been  issued.  The  $550,000  set 
apart  in  1862  had  increased  in  1875  to  $1,761,543.44  which 
was  more  than  enough  to  pay  the  entire  water  works  debt. 
As  the  dividends  and  returns  from  the  railroad  stocks  had 
been  sufficient  to  pay  the  subscriptions,  we  may  say  the 
water  works  plant  cost  the  taxpayers  no  direct  outlay,  ex- 
cept for  interest.  The  policy  of  the  department  has  been 
to  make  the  earnings  of  the  plant  pay  the  cost  of  extension 

1  Trustees  Report,  1857.  3  Trustee's    Report,   1857. 

2  Act  of  April  1,  1856,  sec.  26. 


36 

as  well  as  the  operating  expenses.  The  interest  charges 
were  met  in  part  by  the  earnings.  The  water  tariffs  were 
arranged  on  a  graduated  scale  favorable  to  the  large  con- 
sumer. .The  cost  when  a  less  quantity  than  500,000  cubic 
feet  was  consumed  in  six  months  was  about  one  mill  per 
cubic  foot;  those  consuming  a  greater  quantity  paid  about 
one-half  mill  per  cubic  foot.  The  cost  for  an  eight  room 
house  was  about  twelve  dollars  per  year.  The  source  of 
the  water  supply  is  Lake  Erie,  and  as  this  is  the  termination 
of  the  sewage  system,  and  was  for  many  years  the  dumping 
ground  for  the  city's  garbage  the  water  supply  became 
very  much  contaminated.  In  order  to  secure  a  purer  supply, 
work  was  begun  in  1869  on  a  ^a^e  tunnel  which  was  pushed 
out  nearly  two  miles  under  the  lake  bed.  This  tunnel  was 
completed  in  1874  at  a  cost  of  $325,000.  The  effect  ex- 
hibited by  analysis  on  the  quality  of  water  was  as  follows : 
In  1873  s°hd  matter  held  in  solution  240  parts  in  one  mill- 
ion. In  1874,  131  parts  in  one  million.1. 

Another  tunnel  was  constructed  later,  and  a  third  is  un- 
der course  of  construction,  and  when  completed  will  ex- 
tend almost  five  miles  out  under  the  lake  bed.  Through  the 
two  tunnels  completed  the  city  pumps  its  water.  The  plant 
has  a  capacity  of  25,000,000  gallons  daily  which  means  over 
one  hundred  gallons  per  inhabitant.  The  entire  cost  of 
water  works  plants  up  to  1898  was  $8,833,471.  In  return 
for  this  the  city  has  always  had  an  abundance  of  water, 
reasonable  rates,  and  the  net  annual  returns  are  about  5^/2 
per  cent,  on  the  entire  cost  of  construction. 

The  control  and  administration  of  the  water  works  de- 
partment was  vested  in  a  board  of  three  trustees  elected  by 
popular  vote ;  board  continuous.  This  board  was  given  au- 
'thority  to  manage  the  entire  business  of  the  plant,  furnish 
supplies  of  water,  collect  water  rents,  appoint  all  necessary 
officers  and  agents,  determine  their  salaries  and  term  of 
service.  It  made  monthly  reports  to  the  council  of  re- 
ceipts and  expenditures  and  an  annual  report  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  public.  In  its  relation  to  the  central  organ,  the 
council,  the  board  was  almost  independent.  The  outside 
control  over  the  department  was  only  a  council  power  to 
appoint  a  committee  to  examine  the  books.  Said  Mayor 
j-'arley:  "Of  the  water  works  department  but  little  is 
known,  as  it  is  as  near  a  close  corporation  as  could  be  de- 

1  Trustee's    Report,   1874. 


37 

vised.  Its  salaries  are  high  and  not  subject  to  approval  by 
the  council.  Its  employees  are  numerous,  and  expenditures 
for  various  purposes  very  great.  Yet  that  department 
handles  its  own  funds  without  other  scrutiny  and  draws 
from  the  treasury  in  lump  for  pay  rolls  that  do  not  pass 
through  the  same  channel  of  investigation  so  wisely  im- 
posed upon  other  departments."1 

The  sewerage  system  was  a  correlate  to  the  water  works 
system.  The  sewerage  system  was  necessary  both  from  a 
sanitary  and  an  economic  point  of  view.  As  the  two  were 
thus  intimately  connected  the  construction  of  both  works 
was  supervised  by  the  board  of  improvements  so  as  to  en- 
sure the  greatest  degree  of  economy  and  avoid  conflict  of 
authority.  The  main  sewers  were  constructed  from  funds 
obtained  by  loan,  while  all  lateral  sewers  were  made  by 
special  tax  upon  property  benefitted.  A  later  law  made 
the  cost  of  constructing  main  sewers  a  charge  upon  abutting 
property,  but  in  no  case  could  the  expense  exceed  two  dol- 
lars per  foot  front.  The  excess  was  paid  out  of  the  sewer 
fund  of  the  corporation.2 

HEALTH  AND  SANITATION. 

The  department  of  health  and  sanitation,  the  germs  of 
which  appeared  under  the  first  charter  in  the  torm  of 
council  ordinances,  is  being  perfected  by  experience.  The 
department  was  reorganized  in  1866,  and  the  board  made 
to  consist  of  the  mayor,  city  marshal,  director  of  the  infirm- 
ary, city  physician,  and  chairman  of  the  committee  on  health 
and  cleanliness.  The  health  officer  was  appointed  by  this 
board  and  held  the  office  during  its  pleasure.  He  was  as- 
sited  in  his  duties  by  policemen  appointed  by  the  mayor, 
and  known  as  the  sanitary  squad. 

Ten  years  later  the  board  of  health  was  abolished,  and  its 
duties  transferred  to  the  police  commissioners.3  This  was 
an  experiment  which  proved  unsatisfactory  because  the  po- 
lice commissioners  as  a  rule  were  not  men  who  were  com 
petent  to  direct  sanitary  administration.  In  1880  the  old 
system  was  re-established.4  The  board  as  constituted  under 
its  re-organization  was  appointed  by  the  council.5  The 

1  Cleveland  Annual  Report,  1§84,   p.  10        4  Ibid,    1882,    p.    27 

2  Revised   Statues  of  Ohio,  sec.  2384.  5  Act  of  March  29,  1880. 

3  Codified  Ordinances  of  1877,  p.  172. 


38 

defect  of  the  former  system  was  remedied  by  appointing  on 
the  new  board  a  number  of  physicians  of  reputation.  One 
of  the  earliest  fruits  of  the  efforts  of  the  new  board  was 
the  abatement  of  nuisances  emanating  from  packing,  rend- 
ering and  .fertilizing  establishments  on  Walworth  run,  from 
which  a  sickening  stench  found  its  way  into  the  business 
and  residence  portions  of  the  city.  Precautionary  meas- 
ures were  required  of  manufacturers  of  commodities  the 
production  of  which  was  injurious  to  the  health  of  the  pro- 
ducer, factories  had  to  be  thoroughly  cleansed  within  cer- 
tain specified  periods.  Employers  of  females  were  required 
to  furnish  them  with  chairs  and  allow  them  to  sit  down 
whenever  the  nature  of  their  work  would  permit.  The 
plumbing  of  all  new  houses  is  thoroughly  inspected  by  the 
plumbing  inspector  before  it  is  covered  or  in  any  way  con- 
cealed. During  1887,  327  written  notices  were  served  on 
plumbers  and  sewer  builders  giving  notice  that  their  work 
was  unsatisfactory. 

The  penetration  of  sewer  gas  into  the  houses  has  given 
rise  to  no  small  amount  of  annoyance.  The  outlet  of  the 
main  sewers  being  the  lake  and  the  river  they  are  exposed  to 
the  strong  north  and  north-west  winds.  The  tremendous 
force  exerted  upon  the  interior  of  these  sewers  by  the  winds 
is  sufficient  to  drive  the  sewer  gas  through  the  traps  into  the 
residences.  This  sewer  gas  nuisance  has  been  overcome 
in  large  measure  through  ventilating  the  main  sewers  by 
means  of  perforated  lids  covering  the  manholes.  These  re- 
lieve the  gas  pressure  by  allowing  the  gas  to  escape  into  the 
streets.1 

Considerable  attention  has  been  given  to  the  inspection  of 
the  food  supply.  This  work  is  done  by  special  inspectors 
and  their  efforts  have  been  attended  by  good  results,  which 
have  been  most  noticeable  in  the  quality  of  milk  in  regard 
to  adulteration  and  dilution.  These  inspectors  have  been 
giving  special  attention  to  milk  depots,  butter,  meat  and  fish 
markets,  groceries,  ice  cream  factories,  restaurants,  ice  and 
filters. 

How  to  dispose  of  the  city's  garbage  has,  for  a  long  time 
been  a  vexed  question,  and  only  within  the  last  year  has  it 
come  to  any  thing  like  a  satisfactory  solution.  The  plan  for 
a  time  was  to  dump  it  into  the  lake,  but  since  the  lake  is  the 


1  Cleveland  Annual  Report,  1887,  p.  11. 


39 

source  of  the  water  supply  that  plan  became  objectionable. 
The  method  next  adopted  was  to  have  it  removed  outside  of 
the  city  under  contract,  but  the  garbage  man  went  the 
rounds  only  on  request  sent  to  the  health  officer.  Very  few 
availed  themselves  of  their  opportunity,  but  either  burned 
their  garbage  or  threw  it  on  the  ash  heap. 

Ai  shed  was  erected  at  an  out  of  the  way  place  where 
garbage  from  provision  stores,  fish  markets,  etc.,  could  be 
taken  and  be  hauled  away  every  day  by  the  contractor,  but 
this  became  a  nuisance  to  workmen  in  the  vicinity.  It  was 
finally  enacted  that  swill  and  garbage  at  every  household  be 
deposited  in  earthen  or  galvanized  iron  vessels  and  had  in 
readiness  for  the  scavenger  when  he  called.  The  garbage 
is  now  removed  by  a  fertilizer  company  to  their  plant,  and 
made  up  into  land  fertilizer.  The  city  produces  from  75  to 
150  tons  of  garbage  daily.1  The  local  streams  have  an  im- 
portant relation  to  the  sanitary  conditions  of  Cleveland. 
The  system  of  sewerage  adopted  by  the  city  government 
gave  it  what  was  equivalent  to  two  open  sewers.  These 
were  the  Cuyahoga  river  and  the  Walworth  run.  The  form- 
er extends  the  entire  length  of  the  city  from  south  to  north, 
the  latter  traverses  the  western  portion  from  west  to  east. 
The  Cuyahoga  river  has  a  drainage  area  of  about  1000 
square  miles.  The  river  for  the  last  thirty  miles  of  its 
course  flows  to  the  northwest  and  empties  into  the  lake 
at  right  angles  with  the  shore  lines,  about  mid  way  between 
the  east  and  west  limit  of  the  city,  and  divides  it  into  two 
nearly  equal  districts.  It  is  a  very  crooked  little  stream  es- 
pecially near  its  mouth.  From  a  point  which  is  not  more 
than  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  harbor  in  a  direct  line, 
the  river  in  its  meandering  course  traverses  a  distance  of 
five  miles  in  reaching  the  harbor.  During  the  dry  months 
of  the  year  the  flow  of  water  in  the  river  is  so  slow  that 
under  the  most  favorable  circumstances  it  takes  nearly  two 
weeks  to  displace  the  volume  of  water  contained  in  the 
channel  between  the  southern  limits  of  the  city  and  the 
mouth  of  the  harbor.2  This  causes  the  river  to  become  a 
good  deal  of  a  stagnant  pool.  In  planning  the  sewer  system 
only  such  portions  were  turned  into  these  channels  as  could 
not  well  be  provided  for  otherwise.  But  a  large  part  of  the 


1  Health   Officer's   Report,   1895,  p.  644. 

2  Cleveland  Annual  Report,  1895,  p.  I^XV. 


40 

house  and  surface  drainage  from  a  considerable  area  found 
its  way  to  these  natural  outlets. 

In  addition  to  this  the  "filth  from  the  slaughtering  hous- 
es, oil  refineries  and  manufactories"  which  are  situated  on 
the  banks  of  these  streams  was  discharged  into  these  chan- 
nels. The  hot  sun  of  the  summer  caused  a  stench  to  rise- 
from  this  filth-impregnated  water.  Some  of  the  solid  mat- 
ter sank  to  the  bottom  of  the  stream  and  remained  there  un- 
til it  was  stirred  up  by  the  action  of  some  large  steamer, 
and  after  giving  off  its  noxious  odors  sank  again  to  the 
river  bottom  only  to  rise  again  at  the  first  opportunity. 
Then,  too,  in  time  of  an  ice  gorge  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  the  ice  of  the  lake  prevents  the  egress  of  the  ice  in 
the  river.  When  the  river  ice  breaks  away  it  is  "forced  by 
the  current  under  the  lake  ice  until  it  reaches  such  a  depth  as 
to  plow  up  the  concentrated  filth  at  the  bottom  of  the  river 
in  the  lake  "just  at  the  river's  mouth."  This  filth  finds  its 
way  out  toward  the  water  pipes  and  is  distributed  through 
the  city.1 

There  is  always  a  good  deal  of  sickness  in  the  spring  re- 
sulting from  this  cause. 

Street,  cleaning  by  its  relation  to  health  belongs  to  the 
health  department,  but  this  was  in  charge  of  the  city  com- 
missioners. On  account  of  the  width  and  length  of  the 
streets,  cleaning,  paving  and  sewering  are  important  items 
of  expense.  Street  cleaning  up  to  1884  was  done  under  con- 
tract, and  was  generally  unsatisfactory  especially  on  dirt 
streets  owing  to  the  difference  in  the  character  of  the  var- 
ious streets,  and  different  portions  of  the  same  street.  No 
general  specifications  could  be  drawn  up  to  meet  the  re- 
quirements, and  render  the  contract  system  satisfactory.  As 
there  were  at  this  time  but  about  55  miles  of  paved  streets, 
and  280  miles  unpaved,  the  cleaning  of  the  latter  was  some- 
thing of  a  problem.  Not  even  the  paved  streets  werL  kept 
clean.  "About  the  only  difference,"  said  Mayor  Farley, 
"under  the  old  method  of  cleaning,  between  a  dirt  street 
and  a  paved  one  is  the  depth  of  the  mud."2.  The 
frequent  criticism  in  the  local  press  indicate  that  the  streets 
never  have  been  kept  in  a  good  sanitary  condition.  Some 
allowance  must  be  made  for  this  on  account  of  the  heavy 
expense  borne  by  the  city  for  the  maintenance  of  bridges. 

1  Mayor's  Annual   Report,  1880,   p.  29. 

2  Cleveland   Annual    Report,   1883,    p.    XVI. 


41 

If  the  annual  outlay  for  this  purpose  could  be  added  to  the 
street  cleaning  fund  the  streets  could  be  kept  in  the  best  of 
condition. 

BOARD  OF  IMPROVEMENTS. 

The  council  under  the  charter  of  1852  was  relieved  of  a 
good  deal  of  responsibility  in  the  matter  of  public  improve- 
ment. This  work  was  delegated  to  the  board  of  improve- 
ments, composed  of  the  mayor,  civil  engineer,  and  a  board 
of  three  city  commissioners.  By  a  later  act  the  elective 
membership  was  reduced  to  one  member.1  This  board 
supervised  the  cleaning,  repairing,  improving,  sprinkling 
and  lighting  of  the  streets.  Initiative  in  matters  of  public 
improvement  was  entirely  with  this  board.  The  council 
could  make  no  improvements  unless  recommended  by  this 
board,  but  the  board  could  authorize  improvements  to  the 
i- \ tent  of  $300  without  the  action  of  the  council.  In  recom- 
mending improvements  the  board  estimated  the  cost  charge- 
able upon  the  city,  and  the  amount  to  be  assessed  on  abutt- 
ing property.  Monthly  estimates  of  funds  required  to  pay 
for  improvements  ordered  by  the  council  were  submitted 
to  that  body  with  the  design  of  keeping  the  expenditures 
within  the  income.  The  efficiency  of  this  board  was  crippled 
by  the  constant  changes.  The  civil  engineer  was  the  import- 
ant member.  In  eight  years  prior  to  1864  there  were  eight 
changes  in  the  office.  The  peculiarity  of  the  situation  was 
that  the  same  men  were  elected  to  the  office  more  than  once, 
but  not  for  consecutive  terms.  This  was  a  most  imprudent 
policy,  for  it  was  a  difficult  matter  to  get  hold  of  the  details 
in  improvements  in  the  course  of  construction  and  about  to 
be  constructed.  In  the  construction  of  improvements  there 
was  not  an  intimate  relation  between  the  board  of  improve- 
ments, the  council,  and  the  legal  adviser  of  the  city.  Dur- 
ing periods  of  prosperity  and  real  estate  speculation  street 
improvements  and  openings  were  projected  without  refer- 
ence to  future  results,  and  in  the  end  the  city  became  in- 
volved in  serious  litigation.  The  board  of  improvements 
with  a  mere  quorum  of  three  members  attempted  to  order 
improvements.  The  court  held  that  it  was  not  sufficient  for 
a  mere  quorum  to  order  improvements  which  the  law  had 
imposed  upon  five  members.2  The  action  of  the  board  of 

1  Act  of  March  1,  1861.        2  Ohio  State   Report,   New   Series,   No.  28,  p.  545. 


42 

improvements  and  council  gave  occasion  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  tax  commission  to  look  into  the  legal  aspect  of 
tax  levies.  Extensive  improvements  had  been  made  prior 
to  1874.  The  collection  of  the  tax  was  enjoined  by  the 
court.  In  the  cases  enjoining  the  city  from  the  collection 
of  taxes  for  special  improvements  the  lower  courts  decided 
in  favor  of  the  city,  but  the  Supreme  Court  decided  against 
it.  In  making  a  reassessment  part  of  the  levy  was  put  upon 
the  general  duplicate,  with  a  view  to  conciliating  the  abutt- 
ing property  owners,  but  they  immediately  instituted  pro- 
ceedings when  an  attempt  was  made  at  collection.  The 
board  of  equilization  appointed  to  apportion  these  special 
taxes  in  1874  transcended  its  authority  in  increasing  the 
amount  by  $9,000  as  estimated  by  the  board  of  improve- 
ments. Their  action  was  confirmed  by  the  council.  Pro- 
ceedings were  immediately  begun  to  restrain  its  collection. 
The  plaintiff  in  his  petition  set  forth  fourteen  grounds  upon 
which  the  assessment  was  illegal  and  void.  The  law1  as 
amended  in  1873  was  the  first  in  Ohio  which  authorized 
the  assessment  of  improvements  upon  property  benefitted 
without  reference  to  frontage  or  the  value  of  the  abutting 
property  as  assessed  for  taxation.  This  case  involved  the 
subject  of  "special  benefits."  The  court  granted  a  perma- 
nant  injunction  on  the  ground  that  some  of  the  steps  were 
illegal.2  These  illegalities  in  assessment  gave  rise  to  the  tax 
commission  which  was  created  to  examine  the  legal  side  of 
assessments.  After  this  there  was  less  litigation  over  street 
improvemnts. 


1  Municipal  Code  of  Ohio,  1869,  sec.  539. 

2  Ohio  State  Report,  No.  34,  pp  551  et  seq. 


VITA. 

Charles  Snavely  was  born  Nov.  6,  1864,  near  Massillon, 
Ohio,  His  elementary  education  was  received  in  the  dis- 
trict school.  He  taught  one  of  these  schools  from  1886  to 
1888.  In  September  of  1888  he  entered  the  preparatory 
department  of  Otterbein  University  at  Westerville,  Ohio. 
In  1890  he  entered  the  freshman  class  of  this  college,  and 
received  the  degree  of  A.  B.  in  1894.  From  1894  to  1896 
he  was  engaged  in  public  school  work  in  Massillon,  O.  In 
October  of  1896  he  entered  the  Johns  Hopkins  University 
as  a  graduate  student  in  History,  Economics  and  Politics, 
and  spent  three  years  in  that  institution. 

In  June,  1900,  he  was  elected  professor  of  History  and 
Economics  in  Otterbein  University,  where  he  has  remained 
up  to  date. 


UNIVERSITY  ) 


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